I was invited by SEIU to Washington, D.C. to support the last phase of the Trail of Dreams, a historical 1,500-mile walk undertaken by four immigrant students from Florida to give the undocumented youth a voice. My trip started with a bang on April 27, since on that day the controversial SB 1070 bill in Arizona was everywhere in the media. Even the 200,000 people in Washington, D.C. on March 21st demanding comprehensive immigration reform didn't get people talking about real reform the way Arizona's action has.
April 27 - Meeting Trail of Dreams Walkers, Walter Lara & SEIU
I headed to the SEIU HQ to meet the Trail of Dreams walkers and Walter Lara, a Dream Act Candidate from Miami who fought deportation and is currently in the country through a deferred action. Though we'd never met in person before, we had an instant connection, since we already knew so much about each other from our stories. It was like re-encountering old friends. I also got to meet up with SEIU staff, including Joaquin Guerra, Josh Bernstein, and Ali Jost, who were big supporters during my campaign to stop my deportation. Walter and I began video-blogging our adventure in D.C.
April 28 - Trail of Dreams Press Conference
On Wednesday, in front of the White House, the Trail of Dreams held a press conference where they reported that, after requesting three months in advance to meet with the President, the Obama Administration had remained completely unresponsive. Listening, I was thinking about how many times President Obama said during his campaign, "Change starts from the bottom and up," and here I was, filming four young leaders who walked 1,500 miles during the past 4 months for a cause they strongly believe in, yet were left without even a response.
At a second press conference later on, I had the chance to interview some advocates for Positive Change like Maria Ponce, Campaign Associate at America's Voice, and Luis Mariantes, a National Youth Organizer at Center for Community Change, who urged President Obama to meet with the walkers from Trail of Dreams.
April 28 - Denouncing Arizona
Yet another press conference on Capitol Hill, this one where Representatives of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, the Congressional Asian and Pacific American Caucus, the Congressional Black Caucus, the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Senator Menendez (D-NJ), and others joined together to denounce Arizona's new law, SB 1070. Afterward, I had the opportunity to interview Rep. Joe Crowley (D-NY), who called the DREAM Act a "no-brainer" for children who "for all practical purposes are Americans," and called for comprehensive immigration reform with a path to legalization and border security.
April 29 - Trail of Dreams Lobby Day
On Thursday, we had some lobby training in support of the DREAM Act powered by the United States Student Association (USSA). Angela Peoples, the legislative director of the USSA, and others prepared us to discuss the DREAM Act when meeting with Representatives. The lobby day continued with two appointments scheduled for us with Congressional staff members from two randomly selected politicians. Of the two my lobby partner Jesus and I were assigned to, one already supported the DREAM Act while the other was mostly unfamiliar with the bill, so we were happy to have the chance to educate him. (Unfortunately, we couldn't film the meeting themselves for your viewing.)
I decided to also stop by some of my Congressional Representatives' offices from Washington State to make some new connections and meet staff from Rep. Jay Inslee, Rep. Brian Baird, Rep. Doc Hastings, and Rep. David Reichert.
April 29 - Meeting with Senator Cantwell
Finally the big moment arrived to meet my hero, Senator Maria Cantwell, who spoke up for me in front of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to request a deferred action on my deportation (and whose persistent and committed staff made sure it got done). We only had 15 minutes, but this was enough time for me to be touched by her concern for my situation and struggle to make a living without a work authorization. Not only her, but her whole staff were very friendly and down to earth; they made me feel that I was among friends I could count on.