Union City officials want their voices heard in the debate over immigration reform recently rekindled by President Obama in his State of the Union address.
Home of many foreign-born residents, Union City last summer approved a resolution supporting the DREAM Act, the proposed legislation that offers a path to naturalization to undocumented immigrant children.
It took a Filipino American woman, longtime community advocate and current Vice Mayor Pat Gacoscos, to rally her colleagues behind the pending law.
 “I support the DREAM Act and presented it to the City council after conferring with a group of Hispanic students who requested our support, for many reasons,” Gacoscos said. “First, we have a large population of immigrants in Union City. Second, I personally met and heard of Filipino students who were brought here when they were young by undocumented parents including a very bright newly-graduate doctor, an Oakland teacher and many others.
“Most importantly, these students are law-abiding people who are productive and pay their taxes. Some of them are serving in the military.”
Obama acknowledged the need for immigration reform as a priority of his administration.
“Let’s at least agree to stop expelling responsible young people who want to staff our labs, start new businesses, defend this country,” he said. “Send me a law that gives them the chance to earn their citizenship.  I will sign it right away.” 
The president’s exhortation stirred Gacoscos, who said she wishes the same opportunities open to her U.S.-born son and daughter, both professionals.
She said she had followed closely the story of the Cuevas family that uprooted from Union City and returned to the Philippines to start over after authorities learned of their lack of documentation. She said she empathized with Jose Antonio Vargas, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who last summer disclosed his status in the New York Times to compel officials to take a closer look at and “fix the broken” immigration law.  
“At that time, I had just learned about the case of Jose Antonio Vargas, whose name I mentioned in our meetings as a very good example of why the DREAM Act should be supported,” said Gacoscos. “His message resonated with all of us, documented or undocumented,” she praised. “He is strong, courageous and forceful of his conviction that to be an American, you don’t have to have the papers to prove it.   If you love your country and obey the rules, you are as American as everyone else.  Vargas has a very difficult position personally because it is still possible that someday, he will be deported.  People are divided about the issue, most following along party lines.” 
Local governments can do little more than to support the proposed legislation in principle, though its impact on the community is significant, say immigrant activists.
“We applaud the City Council of Union City for taking a stand in support of undocumented youth,” said Lillian Galedo, executive director of Filipino Advocates for Justice, which has offices in Union City besides its headquarters in Oakland.
“This resolution, mostly symbolic, is another sign that public support for a fair and just resolution to the marginalization of undocumented youth is growing.   FAJ believes that regularizing the status of all undocumented — young and old — is a human rights solution to the displacement of people worldwide.”
The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors or DREAM Act, re-introduced in May 2011 by U.S. Senators Harry Reid of Nevada, Richard Durbin of Illinois and Robert Menendez of New Jersey, would:
* Grant regular lawful permanent resident status at the end of a six year
conditional period, if, during the conditional period, the immigrant maintained
a good moral character, and complied with at least one of the following:
- graduated from a 2-year college or vocational school or
- completed two years of studies toward a bachelor’s or higher degree or
- served in the U.S. Armed Forces for at least 2 years; and
* Grant to states the option to provide in-state tuition benefits to students
regardless of immigration status.
The Union City resolution “encourages the U.S. Congress to pass this legislation and President Obama to sign it into law.” Gacoscos said she hopes “other towns will support the DREAM Act, especially the officials of cities with high concentrations of immigrants.”
Union City ties Carson in Southern California as the town with the third most Filipino residents in California, according to the U.S. Census. Daly City tops the list at 31.6 percent, followed by Vallejo, also in Northern California at 20.7 percent.
Determining the numerical impact of the DREAM Act among her constituents would be a challenge, said Gacoscos.
“To quote the student leader when I asked him,” she said, “most of them are hiding.”   
 Gacoscos was voted unanimously by her city council colleagues to her town’s second highest office in the December reorganization. Among her peers is Jim Navarro, who is running for reelection in November.