It's easy to get caught up in the political tug-of-war that plays out in Congress around the immigration issue. Too often, the immigration debate forgets people like Micheline--and the millions of other faces of the men and women whose aspirations and achievements have been clouded by their immigration status.

At SEIU, we're making a renewed effort to put a human face on immigration--and put a face on the SEIU members who are fighting to overhaul our broken immigration system. One of those members is Micheline Charles, a nursing assistant and member of SEIU Healthcare Florida. In this video, Micheline shares her story of migrating to southern Florida from Haiti. In the years since her arrival in this country, Michelle has not just became a U.S. citizen and raised a beautiful family--she's also become a champion labor organizer for her fellow home care colleagues in the Miami area.

Watch her tell her story:

On Wednesday, thousands of immigrant students held over 120 events in 28 states to support legislation that would allow talented DREAM students who view this country as their own to attend college, serve their nation, and earn a path to U.S. citizenship. States with the most "Back to School" events included Illinois (7 actions statewide), Texas (11 actions), Florida (15 actions) and California (almost 30 actions).

"It doesn't matter if they came here illegally," said University of Mexico student Lee Kittell said as he signed his name to the petition supporting the DREAM Act bill. "If they've been contributing to society they need to be citizens."

In addition to shining a somber light on the urgent need for comprehensive immigration reform, the National Back to School DREAM Act Day of Action shined a somber light on the urgent need for comprehensive immigration reform by highlighting DREAM students like Herta Llusho and Jorge-Alonso Chehade who are fighting deportation from the only country--and home--they know. Click here to call Senators Pat Murray and Maria Cantwell to help save Jorge-Alonso from deportation.

"These brave valedictorians, honor students, and future leaders embody the American Dream, wanting nothing more than to serve the country they've grown up in and build a stronger America," said SEIU Executive VP Eliseo Medina in a statement. "America can do better. America must do better. It's time to open the doors of opportunity, pass the DREAM Act and pass comprehensive immigration reform that honors our values, strengthens our economy, supports working families, and restores the rule of law for the long-term." Read coverage in the NY Daily News, Seattle Times, Denver Daily News, and the Associated Press. More media coverage featured on dreamactivist.org here.

UPDATE: A new video:

Jorge-Alonso Chehade came to the U.S. from Peru as a child and is now facing deportation next Friday, September 25. He and a friend accidentally crossed the Canadian border while trying not to violate traffic laws, a March 2009 incident which, ironically, led to his arrest by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and sadly, his pending deportation.

Watch Alonso's call to action:

Jorge-Alonso Chehade graduated from High School with honors, attended community college and worked hard enough to transfer to a top-tier university, where he received a degree in Business Administration from the prestigious Michael G. Foster School of Business at the University of Washington. He is quite literally the embodiment of the American Dream, but our broken immigration system has prevented him from continuing down his career path after graduation. His story is part of a broader narrative of the challenges faced by immigrant students who have grown up in the U.S. and embraced American ideals, but are unable to fully contribute to our country because current immigration law does not provide a mechanism for them to do so.

On his Facebook Support Group, Alonso writes:

I am very grateful to the many opportunities that America has offered me and I am ready to give back. This is why I would like to stay in the country, work, pay taxes, and bring change by joining all national efforts in support of the DREAM Act.

Alonso has earned the chance to live and work here and call America home--and ICE needs to hear from us that he should be allowed to stay. The goal is to get at least 3,000 signatures--we currently have around 2,500. Sign onto U.S. Senators Patty Murry and Maria Cantwell's letter to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Alonso's behalf, requesting that they defer action on his deportation.

We've been successful with Walter Lara and Taha Mowla, now let's do all we can for Jorge Alonso! Please let your friends and family know how they can sign the petition on his behalf too: http://action.seiu.org/page/invite/invitejorgeltr. Later this week, Alonso will deliver the signed petitions in person to ICE.

Twitter & Facebook Support: Support the DREAM Act & allowing Alonso to stay in America on Twitter by posting this message: Another #dreamact student in trouble - STOP @jache0220 Deportation. Co-sign Senators' letters and RT http://t.seiu.org/zr8bqw #alonsochehade. Join his Support Group on Facebook here, where regular updates are being posted.

In honor of National Citizenship Day and as part of the ya es hora !CIUDADANIA! (Citizenship: It's Time) campaign, SEIU Local 615 in Boston will join groups across the country this weekend to hold an all-day workshop to help eligible immigrants apply for U.S. citizenship. "As America faces a political crossroads, working to fix our economy, reform healthcare and pass smart immigration reform, new Americans will play a bigger role than ever in shaping our shared future," said SEIU Local 615 President and International Vice President Rocio Saenz.

Learn about upcoming naturalization workshops and read coverage of SEIU's naturalization push in the Washington Post and La Opinion.

And, can you pass the new USCIS naturalization test?

With less than a week before National Citizenship Day on September 17--ya es hora ¡Ciudadania! (Citizenship: It's Time!), national community partners and the National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC) announced that more than 25 citizenship events are being held across the country this month to help thousands of eligible immigrants apply for U.S. citizenship. In an effort to support eligible immigrants facing increased economic hurdles, this month's workshops--which will take place in AZ, CA, CO, FL, IL, KY, MA, NC, TX and VA--will provide free and low cost legal and administrative support to help eligible immigrants prepare and submit their applications. The workshops begin September 12 and last through the end of the month.

The nationwide citizenship push comes as a hike in the citizenship fee increase and economic recession have contributed to a decrease in naturalization applications. According to an analysis released by NCLR, after the fee to apply for U.S. citizenship jumped from $400 to $675 in 2007, the number of naturalization applications fell by 62 percent in 2008. If you take an even further look back, the fee hike over time much more dramatic: between 1990 and 2007, the cost of the U.S. citizenship process has increased 561 percent, from $91 to $670. For many immigrants, this large sum can equal three weeks to a month of wages.

There are still 8.25 million legal permanent residents who are eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship--and we need to take steps to make sure that cost is not what's keeping willing, eligible immigrants from becoming naturalized citizens.

Walter Lara sent the following email out, in support of Herta:

Herta, 19, is being deported to Albania on August 19, 2009. Help us stop her deportation!!

Tomorrow, Herta Llushlo is scheduled to be deported to Albania - her bags are already packed.

You can make sure that doesn't happen.

Can you write in support of Herta Llushlo?

Click here to write your letter to Secretary Napolitano:

http://action.seiu.org/writedhs4herta.

While efforts to pass the DREAM Act continue, ask Secretary Napolitano to defer Herta's deportation.

You saw what we were able to do for immigrant students like myself and Taha - now Herta needs our help.

Click here to write your letter to Secretary Napolitano:

http://action.seiu.org/writedhs4herta.

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Join the facebook group for immediate updates.

Read Herta's story after the break.

Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and the blogosphere have been buzzing over the past 48 hours, as thousands of grassroots activists and Congressional leaders contacted the Department of Homeland Security to stop the deportation of Walter Lara, a 23 year-old honor student facing deportation this Independence Day weekend. Today, Walter Lara was granted a one year stay of his deportation.

In response to DHS's deferment, Walter issued the following statement:

"Today, words cannot express my gratitude to Secretary Janet Napolitano, Senator Bill Nelson, Representatives Corrine Brown, Lincoln Diaz-Balart, and the thousands of grassroots activists whose unified efforts have given me a second chance to live out my American Dream.

"As I look to celebrate Independence Day with family and friends this weekend, I have once again seen what makes America the best country in the world. Americans are fair, just, and kind. When we unite our strength to defend our shared values -opening rather than shutting the doors of opportunity - we can achieve anything. As I have said before, America is the only country I have known and I am an American. I have never been more proud to say that than I am today.

"But even as the dust settles on this tremendous personal victory, my sights are clearly set on the struggle ahead to build a long-term future for me and the more than 2 million like me whose lives may be cut short and dreams deferred.

"The action taken by the leaders in Congress and the Department of Homeland Security is an acknowledgment that our immigration laws are broken. The DREAM Act, if passed, would help people like myself, who came here through no fault of their own, stay in this country, be put on a path to citizenship and contribute to our nation."

More background on Walter and the campaign that spread that wildfire to keep him from being deported after the break.

This week has been marked by a number of landmark "firsts" in federal immigration law. Yesterday, the Senate Judiciary Committee convened the first-ever hearing on inequality for same-sex couples. Today, Congressman Mike Honda (D-CA) introduced the "Reuniting Families Act," marking the first time in Congressional history that same-sex couples have been included as part of a multi-issue immigration bill.

The Reuniting Families Act would allow spouses and children of permanent U.S. residents to more easily obtain visas for their children and spouses. The bill would also permit lawful Americans to sponsor their same-sex partners for residency in the U.S., putting a long-overdue stop to detrimental practices--such as prolonged visa wait times and discrimination against LGBT families--that prevent loving families from being together.

"A strong family often provides the support structure needed to be a strong contributor to society and to pursue the American Dream," said Eliseo Medina after Congressman Honda's introduction of the Reuniting Families Act. "For too many SEIU members and other hard working immigrants, bureaucratic backlogs and wait times keep their families thousands of miles away. This legislation will help reduce illegal immigration through several long-sought improvements to our family-based visa system."

For more, visit http://www.seiu.org/immigration

Today, the Change to Win federation and AFL-CIO unions unveiled a unified framework for comprehensive immigration reform legislation.

The proposal endorses legalizing the status of the estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants currently living in the U.S., and opposes the adoption of employers' incentive to hire undocumented workers rather than U.S. workers. The accord recognizes that if these immigrants are not given adequate incentive to "come out of the shadows" to adjust their status, our country will continue to have a large pool of unauthorized workers--allowing employers to continue to live above the law and exploit workers in order to drive down wages and working conditions, to the detriment of all workers.

The joint announcement and proposal is a critical sign of support for the Administration and Congress to address immigration reform and to ensure that it remains a priority on the legislative calendar. It is also an important sign that immigration reform is a comprehensive part of economic recovery. In a statement, Eliseo Medina spoke on the need to overhaul our broken immigration system:

As we face the most serious recession since the Great Depression--as healthcare costs skyrocket, income disparity grows, and the middle class continues to shrink--the American public wants fundamental reform of economic and social policies that have benefited the few at the expense of the working majority. Immigration reform is no exception. Today's unified agreement is a major step forward that will, combined with the continued leadership of President Obama, Vice President Biden and bipartisan leadership in Congress, profoundly improve the future of all workers and build a stronger American economy for our children and grandchildren.

The framework for comprehensive reform and a national commission to regulate future immigration was developed with the guidance of former Secretary of Labor Ray Marshall and the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). Key components of the proposal call for:

• An independent commission to assess and manage the flow of future immigration workers, based on labor market shortages that are determined on the basis of actual need
  
• A secure and effective worker authorization mechanism
  
• Rational operational control of the border
  
• Adjustment of status for the current undocumented population; and
  
• Improvement, not expansion, of temporary worker programs, limited to temporary or seasonal, not permanent, jobs.

"This framework is a roadmap toward real reform--reform that addresses the needs of our nation's workers, families and communities," said Change to Win's Hansen. "We are a nation that respects hard work, family and the pursuit of the American Dream. Our immigration system must hold true to these principles."

Read the AFL-CIO and Change to Win's "Framework for Comprehensive Immigration Reform."

Approximately 2.8 million students graduate from U.S. high schools each year and go on to pursue the path in life they wish. Many go on to college; others choose to work or join the military. However, thousands of students who were brought to the U.S. as children hit roadblocks to pursuing their dreams upon graduating from high school because they bear the inherited title of undocumented immigrant--a title which causes them to face unique barriers to higher education and renders them be unable to work legally in the U.S. or serve in the military.

The solution: the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, legislation that would correct this flaw in our immigration laws that currently provide no path to legal status for young people who were brought to the U.S. years ago as undocumented immigrant children, even if they have spent most of their lives here and have stayed in school and out of trouble. In 2007, the DREAM Act was voted down by the Senate, squashing the dreams of thousands of deserving young people.

Yesterday, the DREAM came alive again, as S.729 and H.R.1751--the new DREAM Act--was introduced to Congress. Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Richard Lugar (R-IN) introduced the bipartisan legislation in the U.S. Senate, while Representatives Howard Berman (D-CA) and Lincoln Diaz-Balart (D-FL) introduced it in the House of Representatives.