The forgotten: narratives of Los DREAMers in Arizona

The purpose of this study is to give voice to five Arizona DREAMers. The assumption is that DREAMers have developed unique strategies as a means to navigate the education highway and ethos of Arizona laws that are seldom positive. These five stories represent a very small sampling of the many DREAMers that dot the landscape of Arizona. Their stories are important to add to the collection of literature that already exists on this topic because Arizona DREAMers confront far more challenges due to the anti-immigrant laws that have prevailed despite federal law changes. DREAMers are neither monolithic nor a homogenous group; each individual carries a unique story that merits hearing and may shed light on the reasons why most have opted to stay in a state that has so passionately rejected them despite progress in other states. It may also illuminate the benefits Arizona stands to give by accepting DREAMers as contributing members of society and may even enlighten the state public on the benefits of passing a major comprehensive immigration reform. The scope of this project is designed to highlight the personal challenges these five DREAMers face in Arizona, a state that has consistently used discriminatory treatment and purposefully created roadblocks through the creation of draconian laws. Former Governor Brewer has repeatedly labeled DREAMers as an economic drain on the state's educational system and has stated the Dream Act is nothing but "backdoor amnesty" and political pandering by the Democratic president. Despite all the negative rhetoric, this Arizonan cohort has not given up on their dreams. Their determinations and strengths are the focus of this project. Narratives will enable the DREAMers' stories to be told through their own voice through semi-structured and in-depth interviews with each of the students, transcribing the interviews with subsequent coding and analysis. The results will be organized into major and minor sub themes to give strength to the stories. Findings of this study will contribute and enhance existing literature with the hopes that it might influence policy change at the local level.