Jump to content

Trail of Dreams 2010

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Eumolpo (talk | contribs) at 13:55, 26 December 2015 (orthographic). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The Trail of Dreams 2010 was a 1,500 mile walk from Miami, Florida, to Washington, D.C. created by four students to support the passing of the DREAM Act- proposed federal legislation that would provide conditional resident status to undocumented immigrant students of good moral character.[1] The inspiration for the name "Trail of Dreams" came from The Trail of Tears.

Background

The Trail of Dreams walk began on January 1, 2010 in Miami, Florida. Four Miami-Dade County college students- Felipe Matos, Gaby Pacheco, Carlos Roa, and Juan Rodriguez- walked the 1,500 miles to the United States capitol in Washington, D.C. The main purposes of the Trail of Dreams walk were to promote human rights, stop the deportations of current undocumented students and to support the DREAM Act.[2] Three of the four students were brought to the United States illegally when they were children. They called for immigration reform and legislation that will allow eligible illegal immigrants to obtain citizenship in the United States.[3] The Trail of Dreams chose Washington, D.C. as their endpoint in order to request a meeting with President Barack Obama.

One of the walkers, Juan Rodriquez, outlined the Trail of Dreams stance in four statements:
WE MUST respect the rights of workers.

WE MUST fulfill equal accessibility to education.

WE MUST have a just and humane pathway to full citizenship.

WE MUST protect the sacred bonds and unity of our families![4]

The press referred to the four student walkers as "DREAMers" or "Dream Walkers".

The journey

The Trail began in Miami, Florida at the Miami Freedom Tower. It continued through a variety of small towns in city in Florida. The DREAMers took time to drive out to St. Augustine, Florida to celebrate Martin Luther King Day. They traveled through Georgia and made a stop in Atlanta where they spoke with local politicians and the mayor.[5]

The Trail of Dreams traveled through South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, and into Washington D.C. The four DREAMers arrived in D.C. on Wednesday, April 28, 2010. At 9:15 a.m. a press conference was held between East and West Executive Avenues near the White House. They were joined by immigration reform allies from the Florida Immigrant Coalition, Students Working for Equal Rights, Presente.org and others. The Trail of Dreams then completed their journey with a walk to the National Press Club. This walk included many immigrant students and allies.[6]

Their original goal to meet with President Barack Obama was not met by the end of the walk.

Methods

The Trail of Dreams adhered to model of nonviolence as modeled by Martin Luther King Jr.[7] and used a variety of methods to educate and promote their goals:

  • Press conferences to denounce supporters of legislation against immigrants
  • Fasting
  • Peaceful civil disobedience actions throughout the country
  • Calling and emailing local communities' Members of Congress- unspecified number of calls were made to Members of Congress urging them to pass the DREAM Act
  • Lobbying for immigration reform
  • Signed Petition- Over 30,000 signatures were gathered throughout the 1,500-mile journey[8]

Support

Local

The Trail of Dreams found support from communities in every area they passed through on their 1,500-mile journey. Supporters provided food, shelter, encouragement and money. Many supporters participated in the walk with the four DREAMers. In Jupiter, Florida, around 70 people, many of them day laborers from Guatemala, joined the walk through their town.[9]

The Lake Worth, Florida City Commissioner, Cara Jennings, declared January 6 as Dreamer’s Day in honor of the four students visit to the area.[1]

In Atlanta, Georgia the DREAMers were assisted by joined by over 200 people and the Georgia Tech marching band on the last 1.5 miles of their walk that particular day. They were also assisted by the local First Iconium Baptist Church which held a meeting that over 300 supporters attended.[10]

New movements

The Trail of Dreams inspired five immigrant students from New York to embark on their own walk. The New York Trail of Dreams was a 250-mile journey that began on April 10, 2010. The five students- Marisol Ramos, Martin Lopez, Daniela Hidalgo,Jose Luis Zacatelco and Gabriel Martinez- walked through communities to raise awareness for the struggles of undocumented students and to promote the immediate passing of the DREAM Act.

Outside organizations

The Trail of Dreams walk was supported by several key organizations. They were a part of the Students Working for Equal Rights and the Florida Immigrant Coalition. Both organizations help fight for immigration rights in community integration, higher education and basic human rights.[11]

The Trail of Dreams was also aided a great deal by the internet and social media. DreamActivist.org and Presente.org both utilized the internet to help foster a community support of multi-ethnic, immigrant youth.[11] Twitter and Facebook were used to document the journey and to upload videos that helped connect outsiders to the journey for immigration reform.

Opposition

On February 20, 2010 the DREAMers drove to Nahunta, Georgia where they encountered a Ku Klux Klan organizing an anti-immigrant demonstration. The NAACP organized an opposition rally to the demonstration and the Trail of Dream walkers joined them in protesting. DREAMer Juan Rodriguez blogged about the experience: "Ultimately, the success of today was to be able to stand hand in hand with our friends from the NAACP; singing liberation songs together and acknowledging our united struggle for racial justice. We ALL deserve to be treated with dignity and respect."[12]

On March 3, 2010 the DREAMers walked through Gwinnett County in Georgia. Gwinnett County is home to Sheriff "Butch" Conway, a supporter of the Immigration and Nationality Act Section 287(g). "287(g)" is a federal prevision authorizing local law enforcement to enforce federal immigration laws.[10] Sheriff Conway has voiced that the accusations of racial profiling in order to uphold "287(g)" are false but acknowledges that the Gwinnett County Sheriff's office has the authority to work with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement(ICE)on identifying illegal immigrants if brought into the county jail.[13] The DREAMers believed that the federal provision led to the deportation of hundreds of immigrants in Gwinnett County over the course of three months.[10] In response, the Trail of Dreams held a press conference outside of the Sheriff's office and requested a meeting with Sheriff Conway in order to denounce his involvement with "287(g)". The DREAMers were not granted access to a personal meeting with Sheriff Conway.

Fight continued

The Trail of Dreams walk ended in Washington D.C. on May 1 but the four DREAMers continue to fight for the DREAM Act and for immigration reform. On May 24, 2010 the four students flew to Arizona to participate in an immigration march. On June 1 they attended a meeting with Joe Arpaio, Maricopa County’s Sheriff. Sheriff Arpaio is well known for his strict adherence to immigration laws. The meeting was risky for the undocumented illegal immigrants in the Trail of Dreams group.[14] Earlier in the morning Sheriff Arpaio submitted a tweet that read, “Just heard that some students from Fla. are coming to visit me and are self admitted illegal aliens”. The meeting was peaceful and no legal action was taken against the undocumented students.

On Monday, June 28, 2010 the only documented immigrant, Juan Rodriguez, was granted a meeting with President Barack Obama to discuss immigration reform.[15] Rodriguez joined a group of immigrant reform activists during his meeting with the President. According to Rodriguez, the President was both receptive and critical of the ideas and concerns brought forth.[15]

The Trail of Dreams garnered support from thousands of people and inspired many immigrant students to continue the pursuit of immigration reform. On Monday, September 20 a group of college students gathered at the Arizona state capitol building to persuade Senator John McCain to support the DREAM Act.[16]

In late November former and current undocumented immigration students fasted outside of Senator John McCain’s Arizona office to again encourage him to support the passing of the DREAM Act.[17]

Notes

  1. ^ a b Howard, Willie. "Post Staff Writer". Pro-immigration 'dream' walkers make chilly stop in Lake Worth. The Palm Beach Post News. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
  2. ^ "The Purpose". Al Dia News. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
  3. ^ "Immigration's New Year". New York Times. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
  4. ^ Rodriguez, Juan. "New Year's Day 2010". Trail of Dreams Blog.
  5. ^ "Routes". Trail of Dreams web. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  6. ^ "Press Release". Trail of Dreams web. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
  7. ^ "Students Stop in St. Augustine During 1,500-mile 'Trail of Dreams' Walk for Immigration Reform". St. Augustine Florida News. 18 January 2010. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
  8. ^ "Press Release". Trail of Dreams Blog.
  9. ^ "Laughter". Trail of Dreams Blog. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
  10. ^ a b c Lee, Jessica. "Undocumented Students Face Down Georgia Sheriff". The Indypendent. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
  11. ^ a b "The Organizations". Trail of Dreams About. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
  12. ^ "The Trail of Dreams Encounters the KKK". Restore Fairness Website. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
  13. ^ "Sheriff Conway's Rebuttal". Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office website. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
  14. ^ Stish, John. "Trail of Dreams meet Arpaio, avoid arrest". Al Dia News. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
  15. ^ a b Restrepo, Marcos. "Miami immigration activist". The Florida Independent. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
  16. ^ Garcia, Uriel J. "Students rally for McCain's support of DREAM Act". statepress.com. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
  17. ^ Garcia, Uriel J. "Students fast to pressure McCain for DREAM Act support". StatePress.com. Retrieved 3 December 2011.

References

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Trail_of_Dreams_2010&oldid=696863818"