DACA Students overturn college tuition policy

In April and May, I was able to witness POWER. I watched and supported to the best of my ability a group of young people gather their resources and get their voices heard. Oakland Community College changed their tuition policy in 2013 for the next fiscal year. The tuition change not meant not only increased prices for international students and DREAMERS, but these new prices were so unaffordable that it meant these students would not have access to education. The exchange on this tuition increase began as a social media campaign. This media campaign grew into a task force led by OCC administration who genuinely were wanting to learn about this new group of students. DACA or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals was put into effect by President Obama through executive order in 2012. It is new. A lot of people do not know what DACA means.

The task force heard the testimony of many, many DACA and undocumented students, researched the issue and issued recommendations to  the OCC Trustees. The Trustees unanimously voted YES on May 20th on the recommendations to include DACA students as residents. This is so much more than policy change. This means that if you speak up, that you will be heard. If you never speak up, you will NEVER be heard. This means trying new things in areas that you do not know- imagined and literal landscapes (Oakland County). It means potentially losing a fight that you pick. It means potentially being disappointed and hurt, but it means potentially winning.

The landscape for these young people is now wide open. What now? What next? They have their sights on other colleges. Inclusion is a goal. It is a mission. Affecting change and learning is addictive. I want to thank you, J.M. for leading this crazy thing, for letting me support you, for taking so many personal risks, for lifting up others, and teaching me and your peers by living (not by lecturing). I am so thrilled at YOUR win. I hope to be along for many, many more rides with you AND as I said to you in the Russell Building in Washington, DC in April, one day you will WORK there.  I don't know how, but we will figure it out!

Photos here!

Gema Lowe, Rep. Justin Amash constituent, continues her fast for a signature on the discharge petition

Our fast ended on Wednesday morning, but Gema in Grand Rapids has continued to fast. Fasting has shown me that withholding food builds resolve, it makes a statement to others, but most importantly, it makes a statement to yourself. Fasting puts your body in the fight. When you feel weak and tired, you say to yourself that it is a choice that you have made.

You make the choice to bring a fight inside close to your vital organs. It is the deepest statement that you can make about a commitment. I am so proud of Gema Lowe. I am so proud of my sisters in arms, the 106 women that fasted last week at the We Belong Together #womentogether 48 hour fast in Washington, DC.

Article in Spanish about the Grand Rapids team of fasters on El Informador in Wyoming, Michigan.

#womentogether

I have been in Washington, DC for the We Belong Together 48 hour fast for immigration reform. It has been wonderful to meet with women from all over the country from different movements coming together for immigration reform. We are now on day two. It is surprisingly easier to fast than I thought. I thought I would be hungry and crabby and I feel focused and alert. I am energized by the power and the learning that we are coming together around. We had a visit by Rep. Ballart yesterday in the evening and this morning, we decided that will not take visits like his again. He came to talk and not listen. We were told what we already know. We need allies not news briefs.

Here are photos from the 48 hour fast. This morning, Andrea Flores, a DHS staffer for Sec. Johnson, came to the tent. 6 women told their stories about separations and serious injustice done by enforcement. I recorded them all and will post as audio soon. The demands are - stays of deportation for these women and a demand to stop deportations altogether.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/raquel48216/

Hecho en Michigan (Made in Michigan)

So, I have always loved the Made in Mexico (Hecho en Mexico) image. It is kind of stark and super iconic. The image which has often come in the form of tiny stickers on the bottom items that I have bought. These stickers have always ended up on notebooks and door frames.  For some reason I have always tried to save them for some later purpose; they seemed precious. I know at some point, it will be a tattoo for me.  Maybe I have always felt a little like these items. I am Texan born, but a part of me was imported from Mexico.

This morning was trying to come up for a name for my new blog. You want the name to be original without trying too hard. I wanted the name to feel real to me and coming up with a name that fits all of this criteria of authenticity and originality is really hard and stressful work. I was thinking about how much the Latino roots of my SW Detroit neighborhood influences my life and my work in immigration reform. Of course, the melding and meshing of the two geographies that are both internal/external and personal/public just felt right.

The name "Hecho en Michigan" seemed to perfectly express my current personal space and so, I thought that it would be nice to combine the two most hard working regions that I know: Mexico and Michigan: