Sophomore Elizabeth Palma last month traveled to the nation's capital with the Massachusetts Student Immigrant Movement (SIM) to make a case for immigrant policy reform before members of Congress.
The primary purpose of the trip was to pressure Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives John Boehner to pass H.R.15, a comprehensive immigration reform bill based on a bill already approved in the Senate earlier this year, according to Palma.
"Right now it's crucial for a lot of immigration reform activists to go down to D.C. to lobby," she said. "It's up to Speaker Boehner to get the piece of legislation in the House of Representatives."
The lobbying effort, sponsored by United We Dream (UWD), lasted from Nov. 19 to 21 and brought together over 200 immigration reform activists from across the country, according to Palma. UWD is currently the largest undocumented youth networking association in the country. SIM, a statewide organization affiliated with UWD, sent nine undocumented students and allies down from its Boston chapter.
"It was my first experience going into Washington, D.C and lobbying, and going into Congressmen and -women's offices," Palma said.
She described training all day on Nov. 19 and then waking up at 4 a.m. on Nov. 20 to begin the initiatives. The first activity involved setting up an empty Thanksgiving table in front of Boehner's residence to represent all of the undocumented immigrants who would miss out on celebrating the holiday this year. DREAMers, student immigrants who qualify to benefit from the unapproved DREAM Act, shared stories of family separation before a crowd of about 200 and then held a candlelight vigil.
"Boehner peeked out the window, and so did his wife, but they didn't come outside," Palma said.
Lobbyists and activists then visited the office of two Republican congressmen whose signatures would be crucial for passing H.R.15. While neither congressman was available to speak, Palma and others were able to converse with the staff.
"You could see that they were very moved and very touched," she said. "It's not about politics. It's about an actual human story. The second person [who greeted us] didn't want to talk to us at all. He was very dismissive and arrogant ... [After we spoke], his total face structure changed ... He had very much become part of the movement with us."
Two additional actions included visiting the office of Representative Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and organizing an act of civil disobedience in the office of Representative Eric Cantor (R-Va.). Eleven activists allowed themselves to be arrested, representing the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States, of whom 1,100 are deported each year, according to Palma.
"They were very brave to decide to get arrested," she said. "One of the ones arrested was my roommate during my three days there."
According to Latino Center Director Rub?Stern, 65,000 undocumented high school students graduate every year and cannot go to college or enter the workforce.
Although some institutions, including Harvard University, Lesley University and Tufts, accept undocumented students through informal methods, administrative and financial barriers still pose obstacles to higher education access, he said.
Boehner had previously dismissed immigration reform as a priority due to concerns about the national economy, according to Palma. The day after their lobbying efforts, however, Boehner stated that immigration reform was "absolutely not" dead.
"I think little steps like that is what's really catalyzing this movement to be something bigger and [getting] out in the media," Palma said. "A lot of people aren't aware that this is happening."
Palma is also a founder of United for Immigrant Justice (UIJ), an independent student group at Tufts formed this year in conjunction with SIM. UIJ seeks to raise awareness and support around the issue of undocumented immigrants.
"The reason I'm involved in this is because my parents are undocumented and I'm very vocal about that, and this is why it resonates very heavily with me," Palma said.
UIJ was inspired by a retreat hosted by SIM this past spring, according to Stern. The Latino Center and SIM have a history of cooperation and co-sponsorship for awareness events, and the center sponsored several students to attend the SIM Camp last year.
"That was really intended for students - both allies and undocumented students - to learn what they could do about [the issue]," Rebecca Pessoa, a sophomore, said. "The idea was to inspire students to start movements on their university campuses."
After attending SIM Camp, Palma, Pessoa and others formed UIJ and obtained Tufts Community Union recognition in September, Stern said. This semester, the group helped sponsor the "Raise Up Massachusetts" rally in Davis Square and hosted an event to express solidarity for undocumented students at the University of Texas when the University of Texas chapter of Young Conservatives at Texas organized a "Catch the Illegal Immigrant" game.
UIJ is currently in the process of determining what its next steps for action will be at the campus level, according to Stern.
"The question now is, 'How does this involve Tufts?'" he said. "Currently at Tufts, there is no official policy for undocumented students ... That's a way in which [UIJ] can have an impact."
