Youth Celebrate Community Victories

Betty recently graduated from CSU East Bay, but she’s afraid she won’t be able to put her college education to use. The 26-year-old Union City resident, who has lived in the U.S. for most of her life, is undocumented.

“I’ve been forced to turn down job offers because I don’t have any legal documents,” said Betty, who asked that her last name be withheld, during a community gathering last week. “I often fear my dreams will never be fulfilled.”

She’s not alone.

It’s estimated that about 800,000 undocumented youth would benefit from the passage of the DREAM Act.

The City of Union City recognizes those in situations similar to Betty's, and passed a resolution last Tuesday to support the DREAM Act.

On Wednesday, more than 100 community members gathered at for Congregations Organizing for Renewal’s CommUNITY Dreams, an event celebrating the city’s support of the controversial bill, as well as the city’s allocation of funds for a renovated teen center—two victories that community leaders believe will make Union City a better place to live and will help curb youth violence.

First introduced in 2001 and officially known as the Development, Relief, Education for Alien Minors Act, the bill would give undocumented students who arrived in the U.S. before the age of 16 an opportunity to gain legal status on a conditional basis. Students must have a clean criminal record and must have graduated from high school and completed at least two years of military service or study at a university in order to be eligible.

Most recently shot down by the U.S. Senate in December, it was re-introduced to the Senate floor again in May.

The local support provided hope and proof that the youth’s efforts aren’t in vain, organizers said.

“As a community, we have power at the local, state and federal levels,” said Susana Pineido, a COR leader, during last Wednesday’s event.

The DREAM Act movement has united several local organizations, including COR, and Active Dreamers, a Chabot student organization. Representatives from each were present last week.

Representing the city were council members Jim Navarro and Pat Gacoscos.

“A lot of people have been affected by it (illegal immigration) to no fault of their own,” said Gacoscos, who initially proposed the city consider a resolution supporting the Dream Act at the June 14 City Council meeting.

The issue is important not just to Latinos, but to all immigrant groups, said Gacoscos, a Filipino-American.

She referred to an article recently published in the New York Times in which Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas openly announced his undocumented status. Vargas writes about leaving the Philippines one night as a 12-year-old and not realizing he had forged documents until he tried to get his driver's license at 16. He’d kept his status a secret since.

“You don’t have to live in the shadows anymore,” said Councilman Navarro, also Filipino-American. “We all came from somewhere else to be here and have a better life.”

Gacoscos and Navarro read an excerpt from the city’s resolution, which acknowledges that, “Union City is home to many immigrants, documented and undocumented, from all over the world.”

In December, the City of Hayward passed a similar resolution. Among the community leaders present at the event was Hayward City Council member Bill Quirk.

“We need these undocumented youth to be educated and get good jobs – my Social Security depends on it,” Quirk said after the event. “It’s in our self-interest to do this. This makes the country stronger. The sooner we realize that, the better.”

Upgraded teen center could have positive impact on community

Also celebrated was the city’s approval of parks and recreation grant funds to be used for a new or renovated teen center. It’s something that will have a positive impact on the community, said youth organizer Samuel Gomez.

Jerico Abanico, a member of the city’s Human Relations Committee, noted that youth violence is still an issue in the community. He was shaken when one of his best friends, Biniam Yifru, was shot and killed in 2007.

“It told us that we needed to come together to do something,” Abanico said.

Through the community’s efforts, voters in 2008 approved Measure UU, a public safety parcel tax that would generate $4 million over an eight-year period. A portion of that money, $500,000, pays for the city’s Youth Violence Prevention and Intervention Program. The three city-employed youth outreach workers were present at CommUNITY Dreams.

However, recent homicides have given the community cause for alarm.

“This can’t happen anymore,” Abanico said.

The teen center will be “instrumental to the work we’re trying to do,” Abanico said.

About $1.5 to $2 million will be set aside from a parks and recreation grant either to build an entirely new facility or renovate the William May Teen Center at Kennedy Park. The facility would give young people a place to hang out after school and during the summer in a safe environment, as well as provide access to services such as health care, educational support and cultural activities.

Youth also asked Navarro and Gacoscos to support the 10th Street Community Center, which is located in one of the city’s surplus buildings and may be up for sale in the future. The center houses the Brickhouse Boxing Gym and is the site for a new public mural.

The boxing center is “one of the few alternatives for our youth,” said Lilia Reynoso, president of the East Bay Arts Alliance and a member of the city’s Public Art Board. She spearheaded before it got tangled in city procedures.

The boxing program currently has 40 students, ages 14 to 24, enrolled, with 11 in advanced training, though the program has only existed for 10 months.

Navarro announced his support for the center, noting that he previously made a motion at City Council to make the 10th Street Community Center a permanent city holding. He urged everyone to come to the next City Council meeting on July 12.

Last Wednesday’s event also signified the launching of COR’s fundraising drive.

“The more money we receive, the more we can put our efforts and resources into the community,” said COR leader Rev. Rick Perry.