When our friends at United We Dream asked us to help get as many people as we could to act in solidarity with the DREAMers and their families, we created the Bringing the Dream Home toolkit for people to use over the Thanksgiving holiday.
Why at Thanksgiving? The next three weeks are our best chance to get Congress to pass an immigration bill—the DREAM Act—to protect immigrants who came to this country as children and their families. And, what is Thanksgiving but a remembrance of a time when a local community offered support to more recently arrived immigrants?
Since creating the toolkit, we’ve had a call with United We Dream’s co-founder Cristina Jimenez, had it shared by partners like CTZNWELL and ParentsTogether, seen it featured in The Nation, and heard from so many that they welcome the chance to take concrete action to make a difference.
Our favorite story so far comes from Tara in Ohio:
“We crossed three things off my fall bucket list last night: Having a bonfire, introducing my 2-year old daughter to s’mores, and doing our part to fight for a clean Dream Act.
We asked our neighbors to set up the bonfire in their yard, and I brought the s’mores fixings. While the fire was getting going, I talked to my neighbors about why I am so concerned about the DREAMers. They shared their own story about a family they know which is being torn apart by current immigration policy: My neighbor saw a girl crying in the after-school care program where she works. It turned out her father is being separated from her and her mother, who is also pregnant.
Everyone agreed we wanted to take action. I suggested we all call our representatives—especially Senator Portman, who has not committed to supporting the Dream Act. So we all took out our phones, called and left messages urging for action before the end of the year.
And if you’re wondering how my daughter liked her first more, it was a big hit, and she announced that chocolate was the best part. I would encourage other people to find a way to do something similar—it was delicious and meaningful to take action together that night.”
