AABE--Immigrant students focus of Sunday rally The Arizona Republic Apr

Organizers hope 1,000 people from around the state will turn out for a rally in Chandler on Sunday in support of federal legislation granting legal status and college assistance to undocumented students who graduate from high school.

The rally is part of a weeklong national effort urging Congress to pass and President Bush to sign the Development Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, or DREAM Act, said Judy Flanagan, a Phoenix immigration lawyer representing four graduates of Wilson High School who face deportation unless the bill passes.

The bill, which has bipartisan support, has stalled in the Senate after passing the Senate Judiciary Committee last fall.

The bill would allow immigrants who have lived in the United States for at least five years to apply for legal resident status once they graduate from high school and would eliminate federal provisions that discourage states from allowing undocumented immigrants to pay in-state college tuition.

The rally will start at 8 a.m. in front of the Food City at the northeastern corner of Ray Road and Arizona Avenue in Chandler and end at Dr. A.J. Chandler Park.

For more information, call (602) 667-6200.