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Rally For Dream Act At San Francisco's Mission High

SAN FRANCISCO, (KCBS) --- Congress is expected to vote sometime this week on a bill that would expedite U.S. citizenship for students who are in this country illegally. Supporters of the Dream Act held a rally Monday outside Mission High School in San Francisco.

They were few, but passionate supporters of the Dream Act, including Mario, who just graduated from University of California at Berkeley with an engineering degree and wants to go to grad school.  His parents brought him here illegally from Peru when he was a child.

"It would just change my life forever," he said. "I can use my talent, I can use my skills."

KCBS' Doug Sovern Reports:

The bill would let about two million undocumented Americans like Mario get green cards and eventually become citizens if they pursue higher education or military service.

Steve Li is just out of federal detention and still faces possible deportation.  The Dream Act would let him stay here and pursue his nursing degree at City College of San Francisco.

The bill faces significant Republican opposition and some former Democratic backers are defecting.  Li hopes to win their support.

"See the person instead of the numbers because this is a human rights issue," Li said.

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