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DREAMers Continue To Score Victories and Build Support Across the Country

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Immigrant youth from across the country are stepping up their advocacy efforts even with less than two weeks until Donald Trump is inaugurated as our nation’s 45th President.

On January 14th, DREAMers and their allies are planning a mass mobilization to demonstrate the strength and might of the immigrant rights movement. Organized by United We Dream, Center for Community Change, SEIU, CASA de Maryland, and Voces de la Frontera, and several other partners, immigrant youth plan to hold rallies in Pennsylvania, community gatherings in Florida, and dozens of events across twenty states in order to fight Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant agenda.

Visit the United We Dream website for more information on how you can host an event or get involved in the January 14th mobilization to protect immigrants refugees.

Meanwhile, in Georgia, a judge ruled that beneficiaries from President Obama’s 2012 DACA program are eligible to obtain in-state tuition at state colleges and universities.

The Huffington Post reports on what this victory mens for immigrant youth in a state that passed laws to prevent them from enrolling at public institutions of higher education.

The ruling doesn’t mean that DACA recipients, often called Dreamers, will immediately be able to pay in-state tuition, thanks to a separate court’s opinion, and the state university system’s board of regents’ plans to appeal. Plus, DACA may soon cease to exist. Trump has promised to dismantle the program as soon as he becomes president, which could lead to Dreamers losing their work permits and the ability to get driver’s licenses and, in many places, in-state tuition.

Still, this week’s ruling was a victory for Dreamers and immigrant rights advocates who have been fighting against Georgia’s in-state tuition policies, particularly since the state’s Supreme Court ruled last February that DACA recipients weren’t eligible to sue the board of regents in the first place. That ruling didn’t determine whether the Dreamers should or should not get in-state tuition ― just that the board of regents is shielded from legal liability under the principle of “sovereign immunity.”

In a separate show of support for DACA beneficiaries, President Obama told Congressional Democrats that he would stand up for DREAMers should it become necessary. Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) offered an account of President Obama’s at yesterday’s meeting:

“He said … he felt very strongly about this and he understood former presidents are supposed to step back from the field, but he said this one means so much to him personally that he would not step away from the responsibility of saying something if necessary,” Durbin said outside the Senate chamber.

Once Trump becomes President, we’ll need all the support we can get. But, it’s very clear, we’re ready to fight – and we’re here to stay.