Minneapolis DREAM Act hunger strike approaching a week

The hunger strike in support of the DREAM Act is into its sixth day at El Colegio Charter School in Minneapolis.

Two days ago, MPR's Sasha Aslanian counted five Minnesota students and two adults who have stopped eating, part of a national hunger strike to pressure the U.S. Senate to pass the DREAM Act.

The bill would give children of illegal immigrants a path to citizenship if they graduate from high school and complete two years of college or military service. Critics, however, say it's a form of amnesty for law-breakers.

Aslanian reported:

One of the hunger strikers Alejandra Cruz, a 25-year-old freshman at Augsburg College, said it's taking her much longer to complete college because she can't qualify for federal student loans:

"We are not asking for anything free," Cruz said. "We are college students. We would like to contribute to the society and the economy of this country. We were brought by our parents here and didn't decide to come here."

The U.S. House passed the DREAM Act last week, but the Senate has postponed the vote. Today, Latino leaders wrote to the Senate asking for its passage, and at least one petition is going around the country..

You can check out the "MN Dreamers" Facebook page, which is where I found the video.

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