Almost 13,000 undocumented students – who were brought to the United States as young children by their families – were ordered to leave the country. On June 30, they called for the passage of the "Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors" (better known as the Dream Act), in order to solve the residency problems that thousands of young people face.

Along with their fellow students, teachers, spiritual leaders and immigrant organizations, undocumented students gathered in front of a Manhattan Criminal Court building and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services building to protest against faulty laws that have led to their deportation orders.

The demonstration, according to these undocumented students, was an expression of solidarity with young people who will have to leave the United States soon. Marie Gonzales, a New Yorker, and Kamal, a law student of Jefferson City, Missouri, are among the students under deportation orders.

Demonstrators wore shirts that read: “We are Marie,” and held pictures of Kamal and Marie. Banners calling for a halt to their deportation read: “Education and not deportation,” and “It’s not their fault; it’s a defective law.”

Later that day, all participants held hands as a symbol of solidarity.

The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (S. 1545 in the 108th Congress) is bipartisan legislation, introduced by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Richard Durbin (D-IL), addresses the situation faced by young people who were brought to the United States years ago as undocumented immigrant children, but who have since grown up here, stayed in school, and kept out of trouble.

Hurting ourselves

“By deporting Marie and Kamal, we are depriving ourselves of valuable, educated people. We are getting rid of a whole immigrant generation, which has a lot to contribute and would make important changes,” said Margie McHugh, executive director of the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC) – one of the organizers of the protest. “We have to force politicians to fix the faulty immigration laws, so that those young people could be a part of the dream that their parents came here to seek. The Dream Act is the solution”.

Each year, 65,000 young undocumented immigrants graduate from U.S. high schools. They begin their education in colleges or universities as permitted by law, often paying higher tuition, yet they live in fear of deportation. Despite their uncertain future, they still want to pursue their diplomas.

“What we are doing to those young people is a crime. You should be ashamed Mr. President,” yelled Brian Jordan, a priest from St. Francis Immigration Center who was at the rally.

Her last Independence Day

“This is probably the worst consequence of the September 11 events,” commented Jennifer Gordon, a law professor at Fordham University. “The implementation of special registration and other stricter immigration regulations is robbing us of a great potential. CUNY is a school of immigrants. Many students who also happen to be undocumented immigrants attend my classes. We cannot simply throw these students out after they get their education. We have to give them a chance.”

Gordon also expressed her support for the Dream Act.

Marie Gonzales, who came to United States when she was five years old and spent her youth in New York, will have to leave the country with her family on July 5.

“This year, she will be celebrating her last Independence Day,” said Chung-Wha Hong from the New York Immigration Coalition.

As for Kamal, who has not received a definite deportation date, he and his two younger brothers have been making appearances at the local immigration court for the past two years. “I love this country. I have spent the most important moments of my life here. I can’t imagine that I would have to leave,” he said.