Update on DREAM Act Students Arrested in Sit-in at John McCain’s Office

I just received an update on the undocumented students arrested in a sit-in at Senator John McCain’s office in Arizona.

According to Juan from DREAM Activist, those arrested are still in custody but are expected to be released later today. Originally they were told that the undocumented students would be held for 48 hours in local custody and then turned over to I.C.E. This will not happen. That position was backed away from and the protesters will be released and have a court appearance in June. It is not clear what the charges are but it is thought that they were going to be charged with misdemeanor trespassing. There is a possibility that these charges will be dropped or will be ACD’ed, Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissal meaning that the arrest would be cleared from their record after a certain amount of time and if the students do not get into “trouble” again. This is actually pretty common in civil disobedience. However we have to remember that these are undocumented students and in Arizona.

What was clear was that this is a well organized group who chose to submit themselves to the possibility of arrest and deportation on the anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education to show the still unequal system of justice for undocumented students in the U.S.

From an official statement from those arrested :

In an Immigration system built on fear, DREAM Act youth have shown that they are undocumented and unafraid. Today the system recognized that DREAM youth are not criminals. We will continue mobilizing and make the DREAM Act a reality!

Estamos con ustedes!

I will post updates as I get them.