Senators Richard Durbin (D) and Lindsey Graham (R) introduced a Bipartisan DREAM Act Bill that makes our community question where we will stand in the next few months of important national decisions. We urge all Hoosier Immigrant Rights advocates to reflect on this bill’s narrative and know what it will mean for you to stand in solidarity.

The DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors) was a main inspiration for many undocumented youths to come out of the shadows in 2001. Many of us believed in the Democratic party, but they ultimately failed the many versions of the bill, and our communities, due to the party’s lack of unity. We’ve been fighting for the respect of human dignity and permanent protection for all, not since 2001 when the first DREAM Act was introduced, but from the moment our families stepped into this country. We have and always will continue to place hope in our community and not a piece of legislation, or a political party.

We embrace the many advocates that applaud this new bill, and we are thankful for your continued support, but we at IUYA see this development as a step backward for Hoosiers. Senator Graham spoke today of heavy enforcement, and even said he supported catching all the “bad hombres” in order to help the “DACA kids.” This narrative will worsen as we move forward, and it will only further isolate those that have been victims of state violence.
IUYA was founded in 2011 because undocumented youth and their families needed a space for reflection and advocacy. We have come a long way and have learned that immigrants are not the only oppressed people. We have witnessed our communities investing in building strength and a larger movement that focuses on dismantling racism, militarism, and capitalism. We will not tolerate anything less.

We will continue to show up and organize. We will not normalize the Trump administration and the need to scapegoat us as criminals. Join us in reforming and bridging the needs of immigrants and other oppressed people.