In a Nov. 12 campus symposium on the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, former Sachs scholar and Latin salutatorian Dan-el Padilla Peralta ’06 advocated for immigration reform in the United States. Padilla Peralta, who was born in the Dominican Republic and raised in New York, explained the uncertainty he had faced as an undocumented immigrant. “You’re always put in a position of feeling as if you are about to be tried ... by a system whose principles defy logic,” he said. “You are powerless.” Padilla Peralta holds a student visa while pursuing a Ph.D. in classics at Stanford.

Other speakers included sociology professor Alejandro Portes, director of the Center for Migration and Development; sociology professor Patricia Fernández-Kelly, chairwoman of the Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund; and Rep. Rush Holt, D-N.J. Holt said the DREAM Act debate hinges on the fundamental question of whether the United States aims to preserve privilege or extend opportunity. The act, now pending in Congress, would offer a path to citizenship for eligible undocumented youth who complete a college degree or two years of military service.