09.24.11

Durbin Applauds Faith Leaders for Holding DREAM Sabbath

[CHICAGO, IL] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) commended religious leaders from a broad variety of faith traditions today for celebrating the DREAM Sabbath - an initiative enlisting churches, synagogues, mosques, and temples around the country to dedicate time during their regular weekly worship service to a conversation about the DREAM Act. The nationwide event began this weekend, and will continue into the fall.

 

The DREAM Sabbath was created to build on the broad grassroots support for the DREAM Act, focusing particularly on faith communities. There are currently more than 320 observance events planned in 44 states, including services in the Chicagoland area this Sunday at: St. Mary of the Woods, Chicago; Church of the Holy Spirit, Schaumburg; Immaculate Conception, Chicago; St. Leonard, Berwyn; and St. Agatha, Chicago. In the upcoming weeks, DREAM Sabbath events will also be held at a variety of locations across the Chicago Metropolitan area including: Oak Park Unitarian Universalist Church, Oak Park; Loyola University Hillel, Chicago; and Worth United Methodist Church, Worth. For more information on local events, please visit: http://www.dreamsabbath.org.

 

"For the last ten years I have been working on the DREAM Act, there has been one constant: strong support from the faith community," Senator Durbin said. "The DREAM Act is based on a fundamental moral principle that is shared by all of our nation's faith traditions - it is wrong to punish children for the actions of their parents. Beginning this weekend, and for the next several weekends, congregations around the country will put their faith into action when they observe the DREAM Sabbath. They will put a human face on the plight of undocumented students and mobilize support to pass the DREAM Act."

 

The DREAM Act is a narrowly tailored bill that would give undocumented students a chance to earn legal status if they came here as children, are long-term U.S. residents, have good moral character, and complete two years of college or military service in good standing. Introduced for the first time in 2001, the DREAM Act has been reported out of committee by a wide bipartisan majority, passed the House of Representatives, and received a bipartisan majority vote in the Senate, only to fall because of a filibuster.