Young DREAM Act Supporters Stage Fake Graduation

Last night just after sunset, 100 or so people, many of them decked out in graduation robes and mortar boards, gathered in the one corner of Pioneer Square not overtaken with Christmas decorations. The group was giddy and mostly very young, 20-year-olds and recent high school graduates who came to Pioneer Square to stage a fake graduation to raise awareness about the DREAM Act, a national bill which would provide a path to citizenship for children of illegal immigrants who graduate from American high schools.

For some in the crowd, appearing at a public protest meant putting their lives on the line: They're children of illegal immigrants, trying to attend college and live in the United States without papers. If they're arrested for any crime—like say the protest got too rowdy and cops got involved—they could swiftly be deported.

Elisa was wearing her blue graduation robe, her neck draped with several colorful cords she wore at her graduation from an East Portland high school last spring. "This one was for Honor Society, this one was for French honor society," explained Elisa, whose parents brought her to Portland from Mexico when she was four (Elisa, by the way, is not her real name). This protest, organized by student group Oregon DREAMers, marked the first time she'd publicly discussed her immigration status. "In high school, it was very taboo. We get information from each other, how to keep studying how to get by," says Elisa. "Something needs to change. Obviously the DREAM Act isn't going to fix our immigration system, but it's a very good step."

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