Mariachis In The Illinois Statehouse: This Is What America Is All About

The American Dream isn't confined solely to people who look like you and me or come from Europe. It embodies the words in the sonnet by Emma Lazarus engraved in a bronze plaque in the Statue of Liberty monument — 

"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, 

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

— that America is a land of immigrants, built by immigrants, and of opportunity for those who come here seeking a better life. It is fitting that Illinois, land of Lincoln, becomes the first state to enact the DREAM Act, with solid bipartisan support as 11 Republicans joined with 34 Democrats in the Illinois State Senate to vote for its passage. The law will grant access for both documented and undocumented children of immigrants to private college scholarships and state college savings programs. Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signs it Monday.

Mariachis In The Illinois Statehouse Celebrate In Music Passage Of The DREAM Act