Bored.

I grew out my beard for 2 months. It started out as a "will not shave until DREAM"
but I could not handle it.

Harvard President backs Dream Act

Another Influential figure in the nations educational landscape voiced their support for the Deam Act:

Drew Gilpin Faust, President of Harvard University.

In an open letter to three influential representative's in the US Congress, Faust's public backing is the latest in a growing list of high-profile people and organisations not afraid to speak out in support of the Dream Act 2009.

Fraust wrote in her letter to congress:

"I believe it is in our best interest to educate all students to their full potential - it vastly improves their lives and grows our communities and economy," she wrote in a letter to Senators Edward M. Kennedy and John F. Kerry. "This bill will help move us closer to this goal."-Globalvisas

Vocal support from such influential members of society is a crucial component in getting this legislation passed.

Freedom

I don't want wealth or power or fame or fortune.
I want freedom.
Oh how I yearn for it.
I want it so bad, that sometimes I believe I am free.

But I'm not.
My future is not my own.
Neither are my options.
They are controlled by predisposed conditions to which I am held subject to.
I long for the day when I'll be set free from these.

I feel it. It's there, in font of me just waiting.
The freedom to live out my life with out this weight on my shoulders.
Freedom that will let me breathe, smile, and sleep a whole night through.
Freedom that will finally end the shaking in my body, and wipe clear this anxiety from me.

San Francisco is calling

Its been six years of living in San Jose by myself. I came back to finish school, and during that I have worked plenty of odd jobs. I've deprived myself somewhat of my youth, choosing (perhaps) to focus on getting school done.

Now it is done. And I feel like I am walking around aimlessly. No goal in sight. No plans. Just day to day existence.

Faced with the countless limitations that my legal status provides, I have been toying with the idea of moving to San Francisco. The reasoning is purely selfish. I want to have fun.

I'm tired of working in manufacturing or fast food. Of not having young coworkers to which I can actually relate to. I'm aching to get some social life back. And I'm craving a Gin and Tonic.

My options seem better in San Francisco, which is more welcoming to an young immigrant such as myself. I could probably work as a bus boy, or if the stars align maybe even a barista. Minimum wage is better in SF than SJ and I would not have to drive. I could rent a room, get a bike and not shave. I'm clearly romanticizing this too much, but when you're faced with the stress and boredom that I've had for the past few years well.

Anyhow, the wheels are turning and if all works out, and I can summon the courage to once again strike out on my own and endure some change I should be in the city by the end of summer.

Time to start looking for a nice Pea Coat

Simple Assault

Fucking wetback.
pound to the face
Get the fuck out of our country.
kick to the head
God Damn beaner.
one final blow
Go back to Mexico spic.

Blood on the floor.

This is what simple assault sounds like in Pennsylvania's Schuylkill County. That's what 19-year-old Derrick Donchak and 17-year-old Brandon Piekarsky committed, according to a jury of their peers. That's what 25-year-old Luis Ramirez endured while his fiance's sister watched helpless, thinking about his three kids.

This is what it is not:

It's not a hate crime if you don't exist. It's not a hate crime if you don't have ID. It's not a hate crime if the people committing it are young, white and have their whole future ahead of them. It's not a hate crime if your peers say it isn't'.

And this is what takes place when we as a community stay silent and watch. When we shake our heads. When we get angry.When we get sad. When we move on.

By the time help arrived, Luis Ramirez lay convulsing in the middle of the street, foam running from his mouth.

Blows had struck the 25-year-old illegal Mexican immigrant with such force that they left a clotted, bruised impression of Jesus Christ on the skin of his chest from the religious medal he wore.

His attackers were white teenagers, including star students and football players, witnesses told police.

After a night of drinking, the teens taunted the undocumented worker with racial epithets, pummeled him to the ground and then kicked him in the head, court documents charge. He died in a hospital two days later.

It took almost two weeks for arrests to be made.
-CNN

There has been protests and calls for investigation of racism in the jury but

One of the jurors, Josh Silfies, took exception to that. "It was really not as cut and dry as a couple of white kids beat up a Mexican and killed him," Silfies told reporters. "It's not like that. I sat there for a week and heard the testimony and heard the evidence, and I had a lot of doubt that these boys were heinous." - the Merc

As an undocumented immigrant this scares me. As an American it embarrasses me. As a human being it makes me sick to my stomach.

Inspiration

En tus ojos veo mi vida

Saturday Morning Improvisation

Low-fi antics of a bored man sick with the flu.

"Hijos de Estados Unidos"

President Obama, while describing Dreamers in an interview with Eduardo "el Piolin" Sotelo

A la pregunta de Sotelo sobre la aprobación del Dream Act, una propuesta de ley que busca legalizar y dar apoyo económico a estudiantes indocumentados para que continúen estudios superiores, Obama dijo que está comprometido a aumentar recursos para ofrecer más préstamos a estudiantes.

'Hay estudiantes que sin tener ninguna culpa llegaron aquí indocumentados a los tres o cinco años traídos por sus padres y deben seguir estudiando en este país, porque a ellos los consideramos hijos de Estados Unidos y debemos encontrar alguna forma para que puedan quedarse y continuar educándose', señaló

The President basically voiced his support for the Dream Act, and called Dreamers "children of the United States".

I think this is the first time he has been asked for his opinion on the Dream Act since he took office.

A huge thank you to Mr. Sotelo.

Butterfly effect

Being an undocumented immigrant wears on you.

With all the shit that you put up with day in and day out, it's very easy for a good day to become a bad day. And when your days are pretty much the same, well then its fairly easy to have a butterfly effect that will lead to a chaotic hour, which in turn wreaks havoc on the rest of the week, and so on and so forth. It's like an evil version of Bill Murray's "Groundhog Day".

On such circumstances I try my hardest to focus on the little things that matter. A nice breeze, some good grub, a great song, the sun whatever.

Today's item of focus: beautiful Stanford campus.

DHS Secretary Napolitano Supports DREAM

Janet Napolitano's appointment as Secretary of DHS was questioned by many on both sides of the immigration debate.

Today she voiced her support for the DREAM Act. At the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Oversight of DHS, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano fielded several questions from Senators. One such question was posed by Senator Durbin (whom we all know and love) here's the exchange:

: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Madam Secretary, thanks for being here. As a former governor of a border state, the story I'm about to tell you may sound familiar. Two weeks ago, I had a meeting in Chicago with student from one of our leading high schools. I met a young woman who was valedictorian of her class and was on a winning team in a science competition who had been accepted at an Ivy League university and was looking forward to pursuing a degree in biology which may lead to medical research or becoming a medical doctor.

But she had a problem. She same to the United States when she was two years old. She was brought by her parents from Mexico. Her parents sold corn on the street corners. And she grew up here. She speaks perfect English. She's never known another country in her entire life. And she's undocumented. I've introduced a bill for eight years now called the Dream Act. My co-sponsors this year include Senators Lugar and Menendez. And it says, for young Americans -- or young people living in America in her circumstance, that they be given a chance through either two years of service in the military or the completion of two years of college, to move toward legal status. I'm hoping, praying, for so many young people who are counting on this that we will have a chance to consider and pass that this year.

Could you tell me your opinion of the Dream Act?

NAPOLITANO: Yes, Senator.

As a governor of a border state, this is one of -- this is one of those areas where everyone wants the immigration law enforced. We must enforce it. It's part of our national sovereignty, among other things. On the other hand, we have to have the ability to deal with some of the human issues that arise here. And the one that you have identified is one of the most acute.

I supported the Dream Act when I was governor. I support it now. One of the
most moving things I've been privileged to do as secretary is to administer the oath of citizenship to men and women in our military who have been serving in Iraq, who were not citizens, who have elected to become citizen. In a way, it kind of mirrors what you're talking about in the Dream Act.

But it seems to me that the Dream Act is a good piece of legislation and a
good idea.

It seems than Napolitano is not the first high-ranking official in the Obama Administration to support the DREAM Act even though she might be the first DHS official to do so. Besides support from Hilda Solis, undocumented students can also count on the U.S. Secretary of Education, Anne Duncan.

DREAM Act might end up being tied up with CIR, but the momentum that it is currently gaining from many sectors is welcomed news.

My Name is Gabriel

So, I had this grand scheme of making a "coming out of the undocumented closet" video for this blog, and then due to unforeseen circumstances (mainly laziness) I haven't gotten around to it.

However, I was interviewed by a local news channel at yesterday's rally. So this will temporarily suffice as my video "introduction"

May Day 2009

Caught up with the marchers yesterday after work. With the paranoia of the swine flu and the slight rain the turn out was much lower than organizers anticipated, about 1,000 of us turned out. Still the same lively spirit was there...as were the Mexican flags.

Marches wont really accomplish much, but it helps people find a sense of solidarity and support in each other. And as I've said before, its a tradition of mine to go, and I will continue to do so, until we wont have to anymore.