I

t was just a fender-bender.

But it would change his life
forever.
On Nov. 16, 2010, Bernard
Pastor, then-senior at Reading
High School, was driving
to his part-time
job at Chick-fl-A
when he rear-
ended the car in
front of him.
For anyone
else, calling the
cops was just
a part of the
process. But for
Pastor, it meant
shedding light
on a secret he
had kept for
years: he had
no drivers
license, and
no documents
proving his legal
citizenship in the
U.S.
The Pastor
family had
immigrated to
the U.S. illegally
from Guatemala
due to religious
persecution when
Pastor was three
years old.
He had been
living in Reading,
OH since 2004 and
would graduate in
the top fve of his
class that year.
Bernard played
soccer at his school,
was active around the
community, and had been
crowned Homecoming king
that fall.
But on Nov. 16, none of
that matered; what matered
was that he was an illegal
immigrant, and he was going
to be deported.
Word of Pastors arrest
spread swiftly. Friends, family,
and even those who had never
met him were seen parading
signs outside the Butler County
Jail in Hamilton, begging for
his release.
But Pastor found that his
arrest was less of an issue
than what met him outside his
prison bars; at the age of 18, he
had become the national fgure
in the debate over immigration
reform.
DREAM Act
The Development, Relief, and
Education for Alien Minors
(DREAM) Act was revived in
2009 by Senator Orin Hatch
(R-UT) and Senator Richard
Durbin (D-IL) in an efort to
give an opportunity to young
individuals who had illegally
entered the U.S. at a young age,
but had goten an education
and were active members of
society, like Bernard Pastor.
The DREAM Act would
provide conditional permanent
residency for those immigrants
who met the requirements.
The requirements are few, but
severely cut down the eligible
population: DREAMers (as
undocumented students like
Pastor began to call themselves)
must have been 15 or under
when they entered the U.S. and
have lived in the country for
fve continuous years to qualify
for the status.
This status would put them
on a six-year conditional path
to residency provided that they
complete at least two years of
college or military service.
Pastor was released on Dec.
10, 2010, and went straight to
Washington, DC to speak in
the Senate hearing
of the DREAM
Act. It had already
passed the House of
Representatives,
despite 12 out
of 18 Ohio
representatives
voting against
the legislation.
Youve seen
who I am. You
know who I am.
With all due respect,
this is as much my
country as it is yours, he said.
Despite the hundreds of
DREAMers who waited outside
the chambers with Pastor
holding their breath as the
senators yelled out their Yeas
and Nays, the act failed to
pass by fve votes.
Opposition
The 1830s marked the
beginning the US batle with
immigration one that has
survived to this day.
With an estimated 16 million
illegal immigrants currently
living in the US enough to
populate Ohio the subject of
immigration has reached the
forefront of political debate.
Marco Rubio, senator (R-
FL), leads the opposition. Son
of illegal Cuban immigrants
himself, he has ironically
vowed to oppose any bill that
rewards [illegal immigrants] for
breaking the law, according to
TIME magazine.
Advocates for Rubios
proposed plan oppose the
DREAM Act because they
believe it encourages and
rewards immigration, and will
bring an economic and social
burden because it will decrease
the quality of public education
and the availability of low-
skilled jobs.
Furthermore, part of the
eligibility requirement of the
DREAM Act includes having
good moral character a
term that has taken on many
vague defnitions and makes
it hard to come to a
consensus.
DREAMers: Where are they now?
> 100,000
30,000 -
100,000
10,000 -
30,000
< 10,000
How they compare:
Future for DREAMers
In 2011, Pastor began his
freshman year at Xavier
University.
He gained legal footing with
the pro bono help of his lawyer,
and maintains a conditional
temporary citizenship status
that requires him to check
in with federal immigration
ofcials every three months.
He has gone back to being a
normal 20 year old, no longer
having to hide his background.
However, there are about 16
million people in the US who,
just like he was in 2010, hide
their illegal status and face the
threat of deportation every
time they drive a car without
a license or fy on an airplane
without a visa.
In 2012, President Barack
Obama stopped deporting
young illegal aliens who ft
the conditions proposed by
the DREAM Act, initiating his
own deferred action initiative,
called the Deferred Action for
Childhood Arrivals (DACA).
This initiative will potentially
afect nearly 1.4 million
individuals, 8 thousand of
which are from Ohio.
Until this gains a foothold,
however, the 65,000 DREAMers
that graduate high school
every year will continue to
fght for their cause and hope
for someone like Pastor who
will ofer them a small shred of
hope for the future.
Because there is no worse
feeling than knowing
that the country whose
fag you have pledged
your allegiance to
your whole life no
longer has room for
you.
DREAM ers[dree-mers] (noun):
Undocumented immigrants redefne search for education, citizenship
All images by Ana Barros
Ana Barros
print editor-in-chief
>>the sycamore leaf >>goaves.com
11 4.26.2013 feature
Increases
border security
and verifcation of
workers immigration
status
Reduces waiting
lists
Provides automatic
green cards for highly
skilled immigrants
Allows Americans to
sponsor visas for
same sex partners
Has a program to
hire more foreign
workers for low-
skilled jobs
Requires that
secure borders
and employment
verifcation have a
higher priority f
Immigrants must give
biometric information
and should show an
understanding of the
history and
government of the
United States
in order to
receive citizenship
>> total: 1.4 million
Marco Rubios* plan
*Senator, R-FL
Barack Obamas plan
(Deferred Action for
Childhood Arrivals)
DREAMERS LIKE BERNARD PASTOR
have adopted an image of a ragged
cap and gown to symbolize their
search for citizenship through
education. Over time, it has become
the symbol of DREAM Act supporters.
Source: immigrationpolicy.org