Looking to boost the spirits of undocumented youths in Arizona - the state the rest of the nation often sees as the crux of the immigration debate - a congressman told a group of students that the fight for legalization has just begun.
U.S. Rep. Luis Gutiérrez, an Illinois Democrat, said he was buoyed by news that, as of Friday, almost 180,000 "Dreamers" - undocumented youths who were brought to the U.S. by their parents and raised in this country - had filed a petition under President Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
Gutiérrez told a group of about 40 students at the YWCA of Tucson on Friday that they are the vanguard of immigration reform he predicts will happen someday for their parents.
"Today is the million youth, but tomorrow this should be seen as the beginning for 11 million," Gutiérrez said.
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He was referring to the number of immigrants he believes would be eligible for legal residency or a path to U.S. citizenship under potential immigration-policy changes.
Gutiérrez, whom many see as one of the nation's pre-eminent immigration-rights activists, has been a key player behind the Dreamers movement. He said that in addition to celebrating and hearing from local Dreamers, he was here to support the re-election campaign of U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz.
Though happy for the deferred program, Dreamers like Carlos Martínez, 30, a University of Arizona computer science grad, said that while he was one of the nation's first applicants to receive a work permit, he fears for his parents' deportation. In addition, he said that he dreads going out for fear of being caught.
"Every time that I see a cop, I am scared," he said. "I don't feel that is fair because I have never committed any crime."
Contact Joseph Treviño at jtrevino@azstarnet.com or 807-8029.
