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Undocumented
Immigration
A presentation by
Alejandra C.
and
Jagpal G.
The Problem
“Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning
to breathe free." These words are engraved on our Statue of
Liberty and have been the hope and the invitation for
countless immigrants. Do those words still hold meaning in
our minds? Or are they just words representing a time when
the US was more welcoming.
An economy in recession. No jobs. Rising cost of living. These
are the fears of many people in America. Discrimination.
Random searches. Fear of deportation. Separation from
families. These are the fears that plague the undocumented
along with the ones mentioned earlier.
But even though they are here illegally, the undocumented
immigrants have certain basic human rights. The problem is,
not many of those undocumented are aware of their rights
and it is time that they learn and we must do something to
protect the lives of those in our community.
Statistics
Mexican: 33%
Other Latin American Countries: 22%
Asian: 13%
Europe & Canada: 6%
Elsewhere: 3%
The majority of those
reside in the State of
California. 2.4 million undocumented
kids with uncertain futures
through no fault of their
About 30,000 people own.
are detained in
detention centers 65,000 graduate high school
awaiting deportation each year.
on any day.
In 2004, 17 undocumented
valedictorians graduated
from high school.
Proposal
DREAM ACT:
The Dream Act would allow undocumented
children to go to college and would create a
path to legal residency through a period of six
AB540: years, in which they must remain in “good
This law allows undocumented students standing” and continue their education.
who qualify, to attend college with in- We ask the City of Bell Gardens to pass a
state tuition instead of out-of-state, resolution supporting this act.
which is much more expensive.
We ask the City of Bell Gardens to
educate students and parents about
their opportunities.
Scholarships:
Scholarships would assist the students, no matter
how much, in paying for college, whether it be just
for books or personal expenses.
We ask the City of Bell Gardens to raise funding to
provide some sort of scholarships that do not ask for
their residency status.
Civic Action’s Already Taken
Presentation/Survey to Raise Awareness:
We presented the purpose of our project and
our intentions to a class of students in Bell
Gardens Intermediate. We then asked students
about their opinions on the undocumented
immigrant fiasco. Among those included in our
survey are students from BGI and BGHS as wells
as a few teachers and parents.
Petition to Raise Awareness: Again
we presented our project to several
classes in Bell Gardens High School and
asked for support for the City Council
Meeting.
Community Involvement
Created Community Involvement: We included other
students to assist us in our project such as the video. Other
students also became involved in Ricardo Lara’s campaign, in
which we called community residents to inform them of
Ricardo Lara’s campaign for Assembly member from the 50th
district. Lara is a strong supporter of the immigrant cause (in
fact he was one of the two who penned the AB540 Bill). So we
ask our community to become activists and to voice their
opinions.
Civic Actions yet to be taken
Present proposal to City
of Bell Gardens: We are Website: We also Brochure: We intend
collaborating with City intend to create a to design a brochure
Council member Sergio website that offers that will be distributed
Infanzon in order to information about at important city
construct a proposal that will immigrant rights, events, such as
be included in the agenda AB540, the Dream Neighborhood Watch
at the July 26th city council Act, and other and National Night
meeting. We also intend to workshops or activities Out, to raise awareness
get in contact with those that will be taking of this issue.
who signed our petition to place for this cause.
ask them to come support us This website will be in
at the council meeting. collaboration with
other issues that are
affecting our society.
Proposed Agenda
June 1: Meeting
June 21: Councilmember Sergio Infanzon submits
request to staff (MEMO) to include
Resolution in the agenda. If item is going
to be included, contact potential
sponsors to cover printing cost.
June 10-21: Work on design and content of
brochure
June 21: Send press release; work on template for
brochure (include potential activities in
brochure such as quarterly/monthly
workshops and forums, festivals,
Neighborhood Watch Program)
June 24: Send brochures to immigration attorney’s
office
July 26: City Council Meeting; discuss Resolution
June 28-July 1: Print Brochure
Develop Community Outreach Strategy
And what happens?
Economists agree that immigration has
a beneficial impact on the economy
in the long term. Adam Davidson
argues that wages for low-skilled
workers go down but this results in
lower costs for restaurant meals,
agricultural production and
construction.
So with our proposal the fears that
plague our immigrants will decrease as
well as raising their morale with the
thought that at least the City of Bell
Gardens does support the immigrant
dream.
What Can You Do?
If an undocumented immigrant were to be confronted in
a situation where they are asked to produce valid
identification or answer questions regarding their status in
the US they:
•Have the right to remain silent as guaranteed by the
Constitution of the United States. They are not required to
give more than their true name. Only a judge can require
more information.
•A search warrant is required to search private property. If
a warrant is not provided you can refuse the search.
•Everyone has the right to see a lawyer; so an
immigration officer cannot continue to question you if you
ask for a lawyer.
