Hispanics not alone: DREAM IU focuses on undocumented Asians

The DREAM IU student group wants everyone on campus to know Hispanics aren’t the only ones dealing with issues related to undocumented citizenship. The group will partner with several organizations, to facilitate a discussion called “The Neglected Dreamers” on the struggles Asians face.

The event will take place from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. today at the Hutton Honors College, and it is also sponsored by the college and the Asian Culture Center. Sophomore Tari Morales, who is on the executive board for DREAM IU, said the event aims to bring awareness about how undocumented citizenship can affect everyone.

“We will present a PowerPoint or show video clips on issues relating to immigrant youth, then we will go on to discussion after the visuals and have different activities. Our main goal is to get conversation going,” Morales said.

Morales said today’s topics will inspire “controversial conversation” that is worth talking about. She added that people should attend if they want to learn about immigration, get involved or speak up for students who don’t have a voice.

Freshman Alicia Nieves, who helps the group conduct research for the presentations, said a diverse population is being affected by undocumented citizenship and it’s not an exclusively Hispanic concern.

“We want for people to understand that it’s not apparent as skin color,” Nieves said. “It’s more of a challenge. There are more people that are undocumented and have a harder life than most of us.”

Sophomore Ivonne Romo, who helped found the group, said another purpose of the discussion is to find out what students know and think about the issues and whether they are in favor of passing the DREAM act.

Romo has a response to people who are against the passing of the DREAM Act, which allows undocumented students to gain citizenship through enrollment in college or the military.

“One of the questions that should be asked is, ‘Did you choose your birthplace?’” Romo said. “The answer is ‘no,’ and this issue of undocumented students has to do with people being brought here by their parents.”

Romo said she wants today’s panel to have an effect on people. She said she is optimistic that attendees will leave with an educated opinion on the matter.

“We’ll show them statistics about how this affects people personally, maybe sometimes because they didn’t have the resources, because it was hard,” she said. “We want them to see how it comes about that students are undocumented. I hope it helps them form a more informed opinion.”