High School Wrestler Walks and Jogs 196 Miles in Nebraska for the DREAM Act
The Omaha World Herald is reporting that Dan Dominguez, a 17 year old high school student from O’Neill, NE, just walked and jogged the 196 miles to the state capital (Lincoln) to draw attention the DREAM Act. The bill, opposed by Dominguez’s representative, Sen. Ben Nelson, and other members of the state’s congressional delegation, would create a path to citizenship for undocumented young people that have grown up in the US and either complete two years of college or military service.
Dominguez is a citizen—he was born in Fresno, CA—but told the Herald that he sees the issue as a matter of basic fairness:
“A lot of kids dream about an opportunity when they were brought here by their parents here illegally,” Dominguez said during a break. “To get the American dream. That’s why everyone comes here.”
But even if they lived most of their lives in America, graduated from a U.S. high school and U.S. college, they couldn’t legally get a job.
[…]
But it isn’t fair, he said, to penalize youths brought here by their parents. Some of the kids have no memory of their homeland and don’t even speak Spanish.
Dominguez said that he was inspired in part by the Trail of DREAMs, who walked 1,500 miles from Miami, FL to Washington, DC to stop the deportation of students and the separation of families this spring, and challenged anti-immigrant sheriffs in Arizona and Georgia.
Pedro de la Torre III is a former Advocacy Senior Associate at Campus Progress.
Handful of Colorado Lawmakers Stonewall Civil Unions Bill
Take Congress on a #DontDoubleMyRate Date
Who Should Speak at #CPNC12?