THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Supporters of the DREAM Act are lobbying lawmakers ahead of a Senate vote on the measure this week, but aren’t sure they have enough votes to break a filibuster against the measure aimed at helping illegal immigrant college students.
In Salinas, the effort brought students and farm workers to United Farm Workers offices to call Senators to encourage their support.
Jorge Valenzula, deputy organizations manager for the United Farm Workers, said the legislation will benefit 800,000 students, many of whom have spent their entire lives in the United States.
“The only difference between them and a regular American is a piece of paper,” he said. “A lot of them have never even been to Mexico.” The phone banking in Salinas was part of a statewide effort by the UFW to mobilize the Latino community in support of the DREAM Act, Valenzuala said.
The effort came a day after a key senator, Scott Brown (R-Mass.), said he will not support the measure and called the bill aimed at helping illegal immigrant college students "backdoor amnesty."
Speaking to reporters at a Salvation Army charity event in downtown Boston, the Massachusetts Republican said he would not vote for the proposal despite months of intense pressure from advocates and educators that included Harvard University President Drew Gilpin Faust.
"I'm not supportive of it," he said. "I think it's a backdoor amnesty and I'm not in favor of it."
Under the proposal, some illegal immigrants would qualify for permanent legal residency by graduating from college or trade school, or by joining the military.
Brown's remarks came as a coalition of educators, religious leaders and immigrant advocates made a last ditch appeal Monday asking him to support the proposal. Brown also had been a target of a national campaign by advocates.
In September, Brown came out against the DREAM Act being attached to a defense bill and said supporters were "playing politics with military funding in order to extend a form of amnesty to certain illegal immigrants."
But advocates had remained hopeful that Brown might support a standalone bill after hearing stories from students who live in Massachusetts. Many of the students who would benefit from the bill were brought to the U.S. as young children.
Salinas Californian photographer Scott MacDonald contributed to this story.
