Major tour stops: Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, San Antonio, and Washington, DC.
LOS ANGELES – With the hope of helping to bring the immigration reform debate back to life in Washington, an organization based in California is coordinating a cross-country train tour – backed by an innovative online campaign – to underscore that the United States is a nation of immigrants and that we need comprehensive immigration policy reform that reflects that fact. Dreams Across America is working with celebrities, religious leaders, and members of both traditional and new media to raise awareness of the tour and the ideals it represents.
Launching today in Los Angeles at 1:00 PDT (details below), the Dreams Across America Tour is bringing together one hundred diverse individuals from throughout the country referred to as “Dreamers.” With four separate trains and major stops in cities such as Boston, Chicago, Miami, New York, Philadelphia and San Antonio, the tour will end in Washington on June 18, where the Dreamers will take their message and their stories – and thousands of others collected online – to the White House (June 19) and Capitol Hill (June 20).
Luz Diaz, one of the Dreamers on the train, expressed her feelings about the need for immigration reform on CNN today. Ms. Diaz came to America at the age of 3 with her mother, only to have her mother deported one year later. She said that she, like most other immigrants, loves America and wants to help build the country. In exchange, she simply wants enjoy the liberties other Americans enjoy.
As the Dreamers travel across the country, all Americans will have the opportunity to join them by “Getting on the Train” through the organization’s Web site – http://www.dreamsacrossamericaonline.org . This innovative site not only allows visitors to virtually join the train tour by signing a petition, but also enables them to share their own immigrant stories through text or video submission. In addition to videos from the 100 Dreamers, the site also has videos from such notable individuals as Arianna Huffington and Fabian Nunez, Speaker of the California Assembly. More videos will be added every day, including two videos each day documenting the progress of the cross-country tour.
“Too much of the immigration debate has conveyed a feeling of this being a battle of ‘us’ versus ‘them,” said Roxana Tynan an immigrant from England, who has shared her story online. “In a way, that disrespects the entire history of this nation. That’s why I shared my story online to show America that, with few exceptions, we are all immigrants or descendants of immigrants.”
“The Dreams Across America Web site,” Tynan continued, “is a place for all Americans to share their own immigrants stories so we can have a rational conversation about this issue.”
Roxana’s immigrant story can be viewed online by going to: www.dreamsacrossamericaonline.org/story/video/2007/06/11/roxana-tynan
Today’s Featured Video on Dreams Across America Online: Cathy Gurney has owned a landscaping business for 27 years. Her American dream is now threatened by a broken immigration system:
http://dreamsacrossamericaonline.org/story/video/2007/06/13/cathy-gurney
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