[Vision2020] Student Leader is Undocumented Immigrant

[Tom Hansen]

Courtesy of today's (November 18, 2010) Spokesman-Review.

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Student leader is illegal immigrant
Recently upheld law permits enrollment

FRESNO, Calif. – The popular student body president at California State
University, Fresno has publicly revealed a personal detail he long sought
to keep secret: He is an illegal immigrant.

Pedro Ramirez, 22, previously told campus administrators in confidence
that he was concerned about going public with his immigration status after
winning the top post in student government.

But that changed Tuesday when the Collegian, the newspaper at the largest
university in California’s prolific farming region, disclosed his status
after receiving an anonymous e-mail.

“I don’t want this issue to be about me,” Ramirez told the Associated
Press Wednesday. “This is a big, big issue that should have been addressed
a long time ago. My goal is to bring awareness to that.”

Ramirez was expected to appear Friday at a campus rally in support of the
federal “DREAM Act,” which would create a path to citizenship for young
people living in the country illegally who attend college or join the
military.

Ramirez, who has a dual major in political science and agricultural
economics, came to the U.S. with his family from a small community in
Jalisco, Mexico, when he was 3. He went on to become valedictorian of his
high school class in nearby Tulare County, where he prepared for his “long
road in higher education,” according to his website.

He said didn’t know he lacked proper immigration papers until high school,
when he told his parents he planned to join the military before applying
to college and they told him he wasn’t a citizen.

“It’s a relief that I was able to come out in the open because I’ve been
holding this for several years, and hearing stories from other students
who have gotten deported or moved because of the fear,” said Ramirez, who
hopes to open his own business or become a civil rights attorney.

Ramirez said he is paying for college through private scholarships that
don’t ask about residency status and odd jobs such as mowing lawns.

He is enrolled at Fresno State under a state law that allows undocumented
immigrants who have attended a California high school for three years to
pay in-state tuition at public colleges. The state Supreme Court this week
upheld the statute, which applies to an estimated 25,000 students.

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Pedro Ramirez, Student Body President of Fresno State University.

http://media.spokesman.com/photos/2010/11/18/ramirez1118_t620.jpg

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The DREAM Act (Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act)
would benefit students who are currently undocumented in the United States
of America. The Dream Act is based upon earned legalization. The DREAM Act
is education for our future generation of leaders. Please Support the
DREAM ACT of 2010.

http://www.facebook.com/DreamAct2010

Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"The Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to change
and the Realist adjusts his sails."

- Unknown