Organizations and Individuals who Support DREAM Act

“Many high school student who have lived in this country most of their lives have no available path to citizenship.  There are children turning 18 this year who were brought across the border when they were less than a year old.  Raised here, speaking English, with no connection to their country of birth and fully connected to the United States, these children have no chance to legalize their status.  I fully support the inclusion of the DREAM Act provisions that give this opportunity to children who plan to go to college or serve in the uniformed services.”

Governor Christine Gregoire
March 31, 2006, letter to Senator Patty Murray

The DREAM Act was first introduced in the Senate in 2001.  It has steadily gained sponsors and does have considerable bipartisan support from Senators ranging from Sen. Orrin Hatch (Utah) to Sen. Ted Kennedy (Massachusetts).  Bipartisan support also has grown in the House of Representatives.

In Washington’s congressional delegation, Senators Murray and Cantwell are co-sponsors of S. 2205 in the Senate; in the House, Representatives Rick Larson (Mt. Vernon), Jim McDermott (Seattle) and Adam Smith (Puyallup) are co-sponsors of HR 1275.

There is also broad and growing formal support among our elected officials, including those representing our state’s school institutions, these include:

• State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Dr. Terry Bergeson
• School district boards of directors—Bellevue, Brewster, Edmonds, Highline, Marysville, Pasco, Seattle, Sunnyside, Toppenish, and Yakima
• Washington Association of School Administrators, Board of Directors
• Washington State School Directors’ Association, Board of Directors
• Walla Walla Community College, Board of Trustees
• Wenatchee Valley College, Board of Trustees
• Associated Students of Central Washington University, Governing Board
• Associated Students of Eastern Washington University, Governing Board
• Associated Students of WSU Tri-Cities, Governing Board

Presidential hopefuls, Senator Barack Obama and Senator Hillary Clinton both have gone on record in their support for the DREAM Act.  Senator Obama recently said:

“… something that we can do immediately that I think is very important is to pass the DREAM Act, which allows children, who [through] no fault of their own, are here but have essentially grown up as Americans.  Allow them the opportunity for higher education.  I do not want two classes of citizens in this country.  I want everybody to prosper.  That’s going to be a top priority.”

Barack Obama, February 21, 2008
CNN Texas Democratic Presidential Debate, University of Texas

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