Republicans have seized on the revelations of two student leaders that they are undocumented as proof that those brown people are up to something nefarious, like paying tuition and receiving college educations. What these stories really demonstrate is the American dream in action.
Pedro Ramirez, Fresno State's student body president, is an undocumented immigrant serving in the position without pay....
After his election last June, he told the administration he would serve without pay -- a $9,000 stipend -- because he could not lie on employment papers. On Tuesday, an anonymous tip to the college newspaper forced Ramirez to go public.
Ramirez, who came to U.S. at the age of 3, said he did not know he was not a citizen until he was a senior in high school. As long as he can remember, he said, his parents -- a maid and a restaurant worker -- have told him he must work hard and achieve the American dream. He said they did not tell him he was not born in this country until he began applying to universities.
"I knew my parents were from Mexico, but a lot of people's parents are from Mexico," he said. "I grew up American."
The son of a maid and restaurant worker becoming a university's student body president is a remarkable American story, made more so by Ramirez's honesty and humility.
The story of José Salcedo is similar.
The Colombia-born Salcedo is no ordinary student. He is Student Government Association president at the InterAmerican campus, student representative on the Board of Trustees for Miami Dade College and a member of the school's Honors College, one of 550 elite students....
Salcedo, an international law student, said he decided to reveal his lack of immigration status because he wanted to make a point about how crucial the legislation is to the future of hundreds of thousands of undocumented students like him.
"For 10 years I've been scared to come out of the shadows,'' Salcedo told the rally.
"This is the first time I speak in public telling a crowd that I'm undocumented.''
....
[I]f the DREAM Act passes, Salcedo has big dreams. He wants to become a citizen, join the military and become a politician.
"I would love to join the military and once I come back I would like to run for public office -- mayor of the city of Miami,'' Salcedo said. "Start off small and pull my way up.''
These current leaders have the potential to be future leaders, and that (in addition to the fact that they'll probably be Democrats) is what is terrifying Republicans. They want nothing that smacks of progress.