(Yesterday, in a moment of self-consciousness, I friends locked my post on How I Learned About the Dream Act. It’s unlocked again now.)
So last night, the Dream Act–which allows some undocumented young people, who’ve grown up here just like you and I have, to stay in this country if they go to college or enlist in the military–passed in the House by a narrow 211-208 margin. Which is the farthest, to my knowledge, that this act has ever gotten … but it’s still in the senate, where as I understand it it’s been fillibustered for some time. (ETA: And now tabled, after a 59/40 vote in same, to be considered again next week.)
Meaning, if you’re a U.S. citizen and it’s your inclination, this might be a really good time to give your own senators a call.
Here’s another thing I’ve been thinking about: As a writer and reader of young adult books? The teens the Dream Act affects are part of our community. They’re part of who I write for, and they’re part of who I share this genre full of books I love to read with.
Looking at it another way: A teen who’s worked hard all their life but who risks being cast out of the only home they’ve ever known if the wrong people find out who they are? (Because as I learned, a teen can be deported alone right now, even if their parents are allowed to stay in this country.) That sounds just like the hero of a YA novel to me.
Except that unlike in a YA novel, we adults get to–need to–be part of the solution.