As part of the National Coming Out of the Shadows Week, coordinated by the United We Dream Network, over 65 undocumented students from the Washington Dream Act Coalition (WDAC) came out of the shadows on Tuesday through a video montage calling for Senators Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray to take the lead for comprehensive immigration reform.
I have personally had the pleasure to be part of this project and work with a group of courageous students who decided to take a big step in their lives, a step that for many was a tough one to take. We are tired of waiting for real change that we need and that we deserve. Washington's reps and senators better start getting ready, because a wave of inspired and empowered student leaders is gaining momentum. It is time for our friends, our professors, our communities, and everybody else who have seen how hard we've worked to make it so far to join our efforts. We want Washington to be a leading state to reform our broken immigration system.
As the promise of comprehensive immigration reform is way past overdue and the DREAM Act stuck in it, many organizations are beginning to step it up, like Reform for America, the umbrella organization for Comprehensive Immigration Reform, with a march this coming Sunday in Washington, D.C., expecting over 100,000 attendees coming from all over the nation to spur Congress to take action to pass immigration reform.
On the local level, on April 10 in Seattle, a massive rally is being organized by One America, the largest immigrant advocacy organization in the state of Washington. Over 5,000 attendees are expected to urge Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell to lead on immigration reform.