DREAM VIGIL
Local rally shows support for legislation
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.
» Dozens of people gathered outside the post office at the corner of Broadway and Church Street on Wednesday night, hosting a vigil to urge Congress to pass the Dream Act.
The Dream Act would grant legal status to immigrant youths who entered the United States when they were younger than 18.
The group gathered in a circle, explaining who they were, where they were from and why they were standing in 30-plus degree weather to show their support for the proposal. Men and women shared stories about standing up to social injustices, raising children adopted from another country and tutoring children.
Karen Villesvik, who resides in Geyser Crest, said people need to stand for what’s right, always.
The roughly 30 participants stood, waving signs and holding lit-up plastic candles in unison at the corner.
The local event — which was planned by the Saratoga Immigration Coalition — was part of a nation-wide mobilization Wednesday, with people urging Congress to pass the Dream Act. The national event was held in Washington D.C.
“We’re doing this in solidarity with the march in Washington,” explained Kathlyn Rooney, a member of the coalition.
According to a news release, pressure has been building for Congress to
“The Dream Act recognizes basic human rights, but it is also in the best interests of the country economically.” — Terry Diggory, one of the local vigil organizers
act on behalf of so-called “Dreamers” since President Donald Trump announced in September that he was terminating the program of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals created by President Barack Obama. Some 800,000 DACA recipients were affected by that action, but the National Immigration Law Center estimates that as many as 2.1 million immigrant youth and young adults would benefit from passage of the Dream Act currently before Congress, the release said.
“The Dream Act recognizes basic human rights,” said Terry Diggory, one of the local vigil organizers, “but it is also in the best interests of the country economically.”
Diggory said a study by the Center for American Progress that found passage of the Dream Act would add $22.7 billion annually to the U.S. Gross Domestic Product.
The mobilization also urged continuation of Temporary Protected Status for people who have come to the U.S. from countries that became unsafe due to armed conflict or environmental disasters, the release said. Ongoing review by the Trump administration has recently led to the termination of TPS for Nicaraguans and Haitians, the release said.
“We’re talking about young men and women — they’re doctors, they’re nurses, they’re even in the military, they’re teachers — their parents brought them here when they were very young. They had no say in coming here. They didn’t break any laws. They’re established as, really, Americans,” said Rooney. “Most of our parents, grandparents, great-grandparents came here from other countries.
We gave them a chance. Many of us are here because [the nation] gave our greatgrandparents a chance. Why can’t we do the same for these young men and women?”