This is an historic day – August 15, 2012.
This is the day when untold thousands of good, hard-working students who were brought here, sometimes as infants, will finally have the chance to apply for their Dream to remain legally in the country they call home under the Deferred Action policy of Homeland Security authorized by President Obama.
Today, the DHS will begin accepting applications from young people who were brought here as children and wish to remain. It is not a full-fix for the immigration issues with which our country still struggles. But it is a safe-harbor for children; for students; for young adults who want to come in from the shadows.
Not everyone will qualify.
Applicants must have come here before their 16th birthday.
They have to be 30 years of age or younger.
There are other restrictions on staying in school to graduation and criminal records, so it’s important to know exactly what the policy says.
That’s where you come in. If YOU are someone who wants to help get families the right information.
NEA is partnering with our wonderful friends at United We Dream. Their goal is to make sure every eligible child gets the right information. We are helping United We Dream set up Application Clinics in schools and college campuses across the country.
If you want to help, click here
Pass that link on to your friends and colleagues and people you go to church with and the folks you have a beer with so they can get the information to their students and neighbors.
If you want to do even more, let United We Dream know if you’ll be a contact person in your school or district or campus or faith community to help them organize an Application Clinic.
This is historic, my dears. I’ve seen the tears in the eyes of desperate parents who want the best for their beloved children.
I’ve seen tears in the eyes of students who can finally hope that they won’t have to worry about being separated from siblings and parents and grandparents.
I’ve seen tears because this is a happy day.
Help it happen.
[...] to register for the Obama administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program — she wrote: Today, the DHS will begin accepting applications from young people who were brought here as [...]