Undocumented immigrant elected Student Body President at Fresno State

Picture Courtesy of Fresno State via The Fresno Bee/AP

An anonymous student at Fresno State University outed student body President Pedro Ramirez – revealing that Mr. Ramirez is an illegal immigrant the day after the state supreme court ruled that illegal immigrants could claim in-state tuition, according to the Christian Science Monitor.

That’s right.  Ramirez is a Dream Teamer.  He is one of thousands of young people who came here as a child, in his case at the age of three, grew up here, graduated from our schools and is now in college.

Ramirez can legally serve as President of Fresno State.  But he had to give up the $9,000 stipend.  And of course the Republicans are losing their minds over this, including a student named Cole Rojewski, who also ran for Student Body President but lost to Ramirez.

Ramirez told the L.A. Times that “In a way, I’m relieved.  I don’t want to be a liability or cost the school donations. I never really thought this was going to happen. But now that it’s out there, I finally feel ready to say ‘Yes, it’s me. I’m one of the thousands.’ ”

Ramirez is a political science major from Tulare, CA.

Kudos to Ramirez.  This should serve as further impetus for the U.S. Congress to pass the Dream Act, giving great young people like Ramirez a pathway to U.S. citizenship.


About Zorro

Yes, Zorro is gay. Zorro is gay in San Francisco, black in South Africa, an Asian in Europe, a Chicano in San Ysidro, an anarchist in Spain, a Palestinian in Israel, a Mayan Indian in the streets of San Cristobal, a Jew in Germany, a Gypsy in Poland, a Mohawk in Quebec, a pacifist in Bosnia, a single woman on the Metro at 10pm, a peasant without land, a gang member in Santa Ana, an unemployed worker, an unhappy student and, of course, a good government advocate in Anaheim. Zorro is all the exploited, marginalized, oppressed minorities resisting and saying `Enough'. He or she is every minority who is now beginning to speak and every majority that must shut up and listen. He or she is every untolerated group searching for a way to speak. Everything that makes power and the good consciences of those in power uncomfortable -- this is Zorro.