Clearly, the provisions of the DREAM Act would be of enormous benefit to the tens of thousand of undocumented Latino/Latina and Chicano students already living in the United States as well as the needs of the U.S. armed forces, but the act remains in legislative limbo at this time. Despite some initial hope following the election of President Barack Obama that the legislation would be fast-tracked for approval, particularly given its widespread support among organizations that also supported the new president's campaign (Dervarics, 2008). According to the U.S. Congress, on May 14, 2009, the proposed legislation was referred to the House Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness (American Dream Act, 2010).

In response to these delays, there have been numerous demonstrations in support of the DREAM Act across the country in recent years. In this regard, Rincon reports that, "Beginning in Summer 2009, when more than 500 converged...
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