New York Times praises DREAM Act protesters

In an editorial published May 19, the New York Times took a cue from four undocumented youth who staged a sit-in protest at the Tucson AZ offices of Sen. John McCain on Monday. They were protesting for passage of the DREAM Act, a piece of federal legislation that would create a path to citizenship for youth brought to the U.S. illegally.

Three of those youth were eventually arrested by Tucson police for trespassing, and on Tuesday they were arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The three youth face deportation to their countries of origin.

One of those young people was Mohammad Abdollahi, an Iranian who lives in Ann Arbor and has been in the U.S. since he was three. He is now 24. Abdollahi’s deportation takes on added risk when one considers that he is gay, as Iran has harsh punishments for homosexuality including whippings and execution.

In the Times editorial, the paper slams McCain for backing off his support of the DREAM Act, then levels its pen at Congressional Democrats and President Obama.

Other supposed defenders of immigrants, Democrats in Congress, have lost their voices. Senators Charles Schumer, Robert Menendez and Harry Reid, mindful of November elections and frustrated Latino voters, have unveiled a blueprint for immigration reform that parrots Republican talking points about clamping down the southern border and treating the undocumented as a swelling tide of criminals.

Good immigration reform needs a good bill, and the administration and the president and Democratic leaders haven’t yet offered or convincingly fought for one. The fight for reform is stalled. It could be simple acts of protest that ignite a fire. Half a century ago it was young people, at lunch counters and aboard buses across the South, who help galvanize the movement for civil rights, and to waken more powerful elders to injustice.