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Five Dreamers Arrested in Los Angeles After Staging Sit-In at ICE Office

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Dream LAYesterday, five Dream Act eligible leaders — Nancy, Neidi, Tony, Francisco Javier and Adrian —  staged a sit-in at an ICE office in Los Angeles as immigration supporters were holding a rally outside the Immigration Court Building.

According to the Orange County Weekly, the five youths have been detained by the Los Angeles Police Department “for refusing to leave.”

In an email sent out earlier in the day by United We Dream’s Carlos Saavedra:

Their act of tremendous courage and passion highlights the need for President Obama to take immediate action to stay true to his words and show his support not only for all Dream Act eligible youth, but Latino voters and the immigrant community as well.

The five DREAMers actually livestreamed their sit-in, as they risked arrest (You can watch some of it here on their U-Stream channel)

The Orange County Register recently updated their story with an email from Francisco, who explained in a letter to friends and family the reason for it:

We are demanding President Barack Obama to grant all DREAM Act eligible youth Administrative relief through an executive order. Last year Congress failed to pass the DREAM Act through the Senate and DREAM Act youth are still at risk of being deported without hope of DREAM act passing in this congressional year… 

As I will be risking arrest I will also need your help in raising money for my bail. I understand many of us are going through tough financial situations but your support would mean a lot to me and the whole undocumented youth movement. Please follow the link for more info; donations of any amount would be appreciated.

Francisco Javier, who has been here since he was six years old, is currently a graduate student at California State University, pursuing a degree in Education. He writes, “As an undocumented student I realize that journeying this far in the educational system is a privilege and at the same time a challenge.”

To show support for these brave leaders, Please sign in the petition and ask President Obama to grant Administrative Relief to DREAMers through executive order. Following are the bios of the other four Dreamers, courtesy of United We Dream:

Nancy Meza came to the United States when she was two years old from Jalisco Mexico. She is currently 24 years old and recently graduated from UCLA with a degree in Chicana/o Studies and a minor in Labor and Workplace studies. She plans to attend law school in the near future.

Neidi Dominguez was born in Morelos, Mexico. She migrated to the U.S. in 1997 at the age of 9 years old. She attend UC Santa Cruz where she received a Bachelors of the Arts in Community Studies and graduated with honors. Neidi’s Dream is to be an attorney.

Tony Ortuño is an undocumented student attending California State University, Long Beach. His goal is to achieve a Bachelors Degree in both Political Science and Chicano and Latino Studies. His hope is to attain a Masters Degree

Adrian Gonzalez arrived to the United States at the age of 3 where he spent his life within the K-12 educational system. Adrian’s parents were deported to a country they had not seen in over 15 years. He was a witness to an unjust action from the person who promised to help them with the process to become citizens. He is now a Deaf Studies major at California State University Northridge and is currently working on putting together a documentary on the struggles of Deaf and Undocumented students.