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Background
Unable to obtain college financial aid and legal employment in the U.S., millions of undocumented youth lobbied for the passage of the DREAM Act, a piece of legislation that grants citizenship to undocumented people who arrived in the United States as children. “Dreamers” supported the DREAM Act through sit-ins in congressional offices and rallies around the nation. Although the DREAM Act was gutted by the U.S. Senate in 2010, Mechistas and millions of other Dreamers continue to push for citizenship for undocumented students.The implementation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Program in 2012 has been an important step forward for the undocumented movement. Although the program does not grant citizenship to its recipients, DACA removes Dreamers from the Department of Homeland Security’s determination of priority deportation/removal from the U.S. Dreamers await a permanent solution to acquiring documented status, as well as full citizenship rights. |
Why Sueños?
College tuition in the U.S. is increasing, making it more difficult for low-income minority students to pursue a higher education. While there are many scholarships available to help disadvantaged students pay for college, many of them require U.S. citizenship for eligibility. Therefore, undocumented students are restricted in acquiring scholarships to help fund their higher education.MEChA de Yale believes that every hard-working, motivated student in the United States deserves a chance to go to college, regardless of where he or she was born. With an award of $1,000 toward the scholarship recipient’s college tuition, MEChA de Yale hopes to support undocumented students in obtaining a higher education and not only pursuing, but redefining the American dream. |
