Flight of the Dreamers

I’ve written before about the challenges facing DACA recipients unless Congress acts and noted Tennessee’s Attorney General changed his stance after some focused advocacy.

Now, some Tennessee Dreamers are joining others from around the country in lobbying Congress to take immediate action.

Here’s more from a press release on the Tennessee connection:

Dreamer Yenin E., a student at Trevecca University, wants to be a Christian bilingual counselor, but if she loses DACA protection, she will be out of luck.

 

Yenin, who lives in Smyrna, is one of three Nashville-area young people who are in Washington today through Thursday to talk to members of the Tennessee congressional delegation about passing the Dream Act to allow them to remain in the country. They will be joining approximately 100 Dreamers from 25 states around the country.

 

“Tennessee has been my home ever since I was 4 years old. I have been serving my community through the National Honor Society, Rotary, and BETA club, and I graduated with honors as a Tennessee Scholar,” she said. “I work two jobs, one as a cashier in my community and also as a preschool teacher to pay my way through school.”

 

“Losing DACA would leave me without the ability to pay for my tuition and pursue my dreams of becoming a licensed professional counselor.”

 

Yenin is one of nearly 700,000 individuals brought to this country, undocumented, as children. As of now, these Dreamers, as they are known, can stay and work under limited conditions without being deported, under the protection of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

 

But the Trump administration has decided to rescind DACA, and protection for Dreamers could end. The Dream Act, if passed, would allow them to continue their work and their studies in this country.

 

Members of Congress and their staffs will hear stories first-hand from Dreamers like Yenin, who was born in Latin America.

 

“I want to be a Christian bilingual counselor so that I can help those who have been impacted by our immigration system, other tragic life events, or are struggling with mental health,” she said. “My dream of helping those in need would not be possible without DACA.”

 

Also on today’s trip to Washington is Molly Haynes with Equal Chance for Education, a local foundation that works with Dreamers to help them go to college and succeed.

For more on education politics and policy in Tennessee, follow @TNEdReport


 

Middle TN Group to Push for BRIDGE Act Today

A group known as Equal Chance for Education will hold an event in Lebanon tonight in support of the BRIDGE Act. Here’s more on the event from the group:

A group of more than 40 young people will assemble tonight to celebrate the future — hours after Donald Trump becomes President. Every one one them could already be illegal when their celebration starts. They are beneficiaries of the DACA program for young people who were brought into this country illegally as children. Unless the BRIDGE Act passes, they will have to drop out of college and face the very real possibility of deportation.

Tonight’s event will celebrate a local organization that has assisted them in getting into and succeeding at college. Four of these “Dreamers” will speak, all preparing to graduate this year from Lipscomb, Fisk, and Trevecca. We also will have information available from FWD.US, an organization founded by Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, which is advocating for the BRIDGE Act.

The event will be held at 4:40 PM today at Baird Chapel on the campus of Cumberland University in Lebanon.

For more information, contact Terry Quillen at 615.305.5062

For more on education politics and policy in Tennessee, follow @TNEdReport