Immigration

"I don't want to leave my school and this country."

As I listened to the barrage of news this week on immigration, I kept thinking about an 8-year-old girl I met in Georgia in 2011. Melanie is a star student and Girl Scout. Her mother bravely spoke to a group of women delegates about how Georgia's treatment of immigrants was affecting families...

Arrest, Detention of DREAM Leader’s Mother Shows Why We Need Immigration Reform—And Administrative Change—Right now

Immigration reform will be a top legislative priority this year, and it won’t be some vague policy or philosophical change that we’re asking for. The coming battle to change our immigration policy is personal, and we fight it every day to protect our mothers, fathers, children, and family members...

How the DACA Health Exclusions Harm Immigrant Women, and What You Can Do To Help

On June 15, 2012, the Obama Administration announced a new policy, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) that allows undocumented youth who meet specific requirements to apply for a two-year protection from deportation and for work authorization. When the policy was announced, advocates for...

Passing the Dream Act

Eleven years ago, I was contacted by Ann Monaco, a teacher at the Merit School of Music in Chicago. One of her students – Tereza Lee – was a musical prodigy who had played as a soloist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. After growing up in an apartment with no heat or hot water, and learning to...