you're in "the trestreemen " young people now dare to dream whether it comes to immigration reform. they grew up hiding in plain sight. a diverse group of young people who say they feel invisible whenever immigration policy comes up for discussion. roughly 27% of the estimated 11 million unauthorized immigrants

living in the u.s. came from countries to the north, east, and west. among them, young people, eager for immigration reform and passage of the dream act. legislation that would create a pathway to citizenship for undocumented youth brought to the u.s. as children. but the group we're talking about and with today feels left out of the immigration conversation because of their ethnicity. >> i believe that a lot of people think it's just a lat tino issue and mexican issue. i'm proof it's not. when you have all these people from asia, from europe and from africa as well, it's a global issue that affects all of us. >> members of this group of diverse dreamers are stepping out of the margins and mainstream to lend their faces and voices to the debate. our digital producer is juggling all the live feedback. this is an issue our community asked us to recover. they say it focuses too narrowly

on one group. >> i love "the stream" because it's a community-driven show. this is julio on the screen who said we have to give a shout-out to fanima90 who pitched this story to us and tonight it's the show. of course, a lot of opinions. dena says we need to promote a multiculture society and not just a biculture one. u.s. immigration reform neglects many immigrants, and it's latino news. most media things demonize or evangelize the crime. the viewer at home are part of the stream team. as always join our conversation today by using the #ajstream. >> they have lived at undocumented immigrants at various points. they're all in good standing with the government now as part of a program to provide deportation relief to young people. here with us in studio is kamal.

he came to america when he was 11 and works as an attorney. in our google plus hangout is kevin lee. his parents emigrated from south korea in 1999. aldon nesbit co-chairs the international youth association. his mother was recruited to teach in new york when he was just 12. tina is a college student that traveled to the u.s. as a toddler when her dad was granted a business visa. welcome to "the stream." who are the dreamers? >> the dreamers are named after the dream act, which is a historically bipartisan legislation introduced first in 2001, and it's been introduced at every congressional session since. what it's meant to traes is a situation of undocumented youth. these are people who have come here at a young age who are american in essentially every way except for the paperwork. as they live their lives here, they face the struggles of not

having the paperwork, of being able to access education and getting a driver's license and being able to work. so the point of the dream act and the struggle of the dreamers is the struggle about inte grating to american society. they fwaif them a pathway to citizenship so they have a path way to work, but provide them with access education, access loans and state tuition, that sort of thing. >> we were talking earlier. everybody on the show tonight has an incredible story, and we want to make sure we get to that. we want to do it right away. kevin, tell us a little bit about your story, how you became undocumented. >> hi. thanks for having me again. >> yeah. >> i came here to the u.s. when i was 9 years old from south korea. there was a severe economic crisis back then, and my parents made a very deep leap of faith moving to this country.

when we first got here, it was a struggle, like most immigrant families, and i knew when i was growing up that i was undocumented because my parents would go out to work, and before they'd leave they would tell me, kevin, you know, lock the doors, and when somebody knocks, look through the back window and see if it's the law enforcement. they could take you away. my mother used to tell me always, you know, don't tell your best friends, your neighbors, anybody that you know about your status, because, you know, you can be taken away from us. >> what kind of stress did that cause for you as a little kid? >> looking back, i think it was a tremendous sense of fear knowing that you could always be deported. knowing that your parents could also be gone. this is sort of the struggle of

so many immigrant youth and people, is that they have this looming fear behind the back of their heads that they could always be deported, even though they fully want to contribute to this society. going on with my story, it became really difficult because i would pledge of allegiance the flag every day, thinking of myself as truly american. when i came of age, when i was in high school, i knew that i was different. i couldn't get a driver's license. i couldn't get a work permit. at the end of my high school year, i knew that i can't, you know -- i thought i couldn't apply for colleges and universities and aspire for higher education. >> kevin, i'm going to bring in some community right here. ali says i fwgrew up an

undocumented friend. their life was put on hold after high school. mark says undocumented immigrants have to deal with college applications and part-time jobs in high school and fear of getting pulled over could lead to deportation by i.c.e. alden, talk to us about having to live with a perpetual escape plan. >> i live in new york and look in brooklyn where you have to live in a state of that. a cop can look at me and stop me just because of the color of my skin or because they assume that i'm going to commit a crime because i look african-american. unfortunately, because i'm not african-american and i'm undocumented, what they can now do is report that to i.c.e. and tell i.c.e. we do not have identification, and i can be detained or deported just for

not having identification in new york city. >> alden, i want to get to how you got here in the first place. the u.s. government asked your mom to come here and teach in some of the most trying schools in new york city, right? >> right. >> what was she told? what was she promised? >> the department of education in 2001, they went all the way to the caribbean to get the best and brightest teachers to teach in some of the hardest-staffed schools in new york city. my mother taught special education for 22 years, and you know, they told her that she was going to get a bunch of things. one of the things that we all expected to eventually get was green cards and have a pathway to citizenship. up until june 21 i actually expected to become a citizen. when i turned that and my mom didn't have a green card, i aged out. >> president obama used his

executive authority to provide temporary relief for folks called alden facing deportation. it's called daca. that allows young people to work leg legally. they think 1.4 are eligible for it. tina, you qualified for this program. tell us how it affected your life. >> well, when i was in high school, i couldn't drive, and i had to take the city bus to go to school. during the time my family was hit with a flood. so we had no government help, and we lost everything. so after i received daca, i was able to work, able to drive. it gave me an identity. most people think you can travel by air, but whether when you turn 18, you can't do that unless you have a legal i.d.

i was able to use that i.d. and travel throughout the world or throughout america, and it was organized for the dream act and work to pay for school and drive so i didn't have to take the city bus every morning. >> we should mention that you came here as a toddler with your dad. his business visa, right? >> i did. he was a medical professional. he used to make interocular lenses, and he want to expand and wanted the american dream and to be the entrepreneur. originally we moved to florida, and he decided to expand his business. it obviously didn't work out, and he was denied renewal. that's when i became undocumented. >> daca is seen as a stop-gap measure. dreamers say it's not enough. the president agrees. >> precisely because this is temporary, congress needs to act. there's still time for congress to past the dream act this year because these kids deserve to

plan their lives in more than two-year increments. we still need to pass comprehensive immigration reform that addresses our 21st century economic and security needs. >> so what should be done to address these issues within the nation's immigration system, and should people like kevin and alden and tina have an expea dated path to scitizenship? we'll discuss all of that on the other side of the break.

♪ pakistani americans. >> colombian americans. >> we are undocumented. >> and we are all dreamers.

>> so that's a psa urging congress to tackle immigration reform. in june senators responded with action passing legislation that provides a path to scitizen shu, but it's anyone's guess if it will law. the house of representatives still has yet to bring it up. before the break we asked our community what issues should be addressed regarding immigration legislation particularly with regard to folks on the show today. >> congress must vote on immigration report before the end of the year. they can also pass the federal dream act, which is a long-term fix for these dreamers. we have aria that said the u.s. itself is a country of immigration. the first step is not to deport good scitizens to try to make a living. aaron said from the late 1700s to present u.s. immigration policy has been a joke. however, it should include all dreamers. >> being a dreamer, kevin, you participated in a dream riders trip across america last month.

what was the purpose of that? >> the purpose was to go around various states around the united states with a group of api dreamers, young dreamers, and to visit and share our stories, our experiences as living as undocumented people. it was also to hear back from those respective communities in virginia and north carolina, georgia, texas, louisiana, and to create a greater network of people who are allies to our cause and even maybe for comprehensive reform you would have. >> what kind of response did you get? >> push-back. definitely a lot of times it was difficult, you know, having to share our stories over and over again. you know, the anti-immigrant people, you know, sort of giving us the benefit of the doubt. but we kept pushing, and we, you

know, finished our trip very safely. we were able to create a network and get to know so many communities and to share our awareness. >> is there a tendency for all undocumented immigrants to sort of get piled into one lump in terms of the general narrative? >> the immigration conversation now, it's great to have a national conversation about immigration reform. the focus of the conversation is the path of citizenship for undocumented, which is viewed as a mexican issue. there are other issues part of immigration reform. in the senate bill the diversity lottery visa was gutted. it was an important vehicle for african-american immigrants to come into the united states. it doesn't exist anymore in the senate bill. the family system. a cornerstone of our immigration system is you can sponsor family members. family unity is held in really high esteem.

the senate bill guts that, which is important for filippino communities. >> when you talk about people being lumped in one pile, it's important to highlight the fact that 40% were here legally to begin with. they were here on visas that expired. once that happens, how hard is it to get back on track? >> almost impossible, actually. people think and even some of my, you know, very smart, professional colleagues that a green card is something you can just pick up from the post office. if you're undocumented that it's somehow your fault, you're too lazy to pick up the green card. actually the immigration law has very few expectations. once you fall out of the status, it's impossible to get back on. >> we have a video comment about lumping and our system. here's angel rodriguez. >> i do, however, feel that the people have done this the right way, people that are waiting, people that are bringing family over, people that follow the rules, those people should not

be bumped to the back of any line or people that followed the rules, those people should not be bumped to the back of any lines in order to benefit someone who broke the rules. so yes, we can defer action to not deport people that are here working hard doing the right things. they have to wait their turn, because there were people that were doing the right thing all along. >> a lot of folks in america are sympathetic to these narratives, but this is country still of rules and laws. why should we bent or break the system to help those who are not following the law? what's your response to that? waiting for alden. tina, i'll go to you. what's your response to that. >> i do agree that laws should be kept and people should follow them, but laws don't always work the way they're designed to. there's a letter of the law and then there's the reality. my dad followed all the right

rules, and during the time when his visa was denied, he decided to go back. in that time he had to sell his car. he was renting a place, and sell back all of the stuff he invested in. then he would have to go back. during that time he just didn't have the amount of time that you need to do all those things. according to the rules and regulations that if he left the country he wouldn't be allowed back for another ten years. it's -- it was a possibility that he might be able to come back. there was no certainty, so the laws that are in place aren't working for the majority of people, and we should refine those laws and make them so that people that want to come here that are willing to work and willing to go to school and be part of the community and contribute can be an american not just by name but papers as well. >> we hear this a lot. get in line. is there a line available? are there traditional channels

open to people like tina and alden and kevin? >> first of all, i think just to put it in context, the rules don't make sense. there are rules in immigration law, and we are a kunlt of l -- country of laws. the rules do not makes sense. there's a certain value to wait your turn in line. when you're disconnected for 20 years from a family member, from a sibling or child, that what you have to weigh when you talk about following the rules. you know, a lot of these lines that are talked about, i mean, some of them are really long. you know, to be sponsored by an employer, sometimes you have to wait in line for five years. is there a job waiting at the end of the day after five years? a job waiting for you to make it through the line? we want to uphold -- i think

folks want to uphold the rule of law, but sometimes we have to keep it in the context of the rules themselves don't make sense. >> a lot of people are opposed to amnesty and when they hear discusses like it's because there's an undertone of entitlement. do you feel entitled to be in the u.s., given your background? >> i don't feel entitled for my position. one of the reasons is because my mother was asked to come to this country. she was asked to do a service, and she's done that service for 12 years. the only reason i'm undocumented as of right now is because of this long line that my mother waited in to get her green card. i became undocumented. i was in school, and i had two more classes before i graduated. my dream was to -- i actually wanted to become american and make this country a better place. because of the broke immigration system, it is making it difficult for me to accomplish my dreams. >> alden, you mention your mom

and you're talking about families. many of the african-american caribbean undocumented immigrants are here by virtue of overstaying their visas. once they reached the age of mature they were without papers. kevin, i'll go with you to this. talk to me about family estrangement. a lot of people don't know if the reforms take place there's cut off from the brothers and moms and fathers. tall to talk to us about that feeling. >> it does not include family addition for siblings or childrening -- married children over 31. what makes a lot of our community grow is through the family petitions. you know, immigrants tend to pool our resources together, start small bigses, which is the backbone of our economy.

it's very unfortunate to see these family-based systems be cut off, you know, for so many people. >> yeah. look, we're going to pause for a moment. kamal, kevin, alden, tina, you all stepped into the immigration debate. where do you go from here? we'll talk about that next. before the break, check out a few hashtags we're following. wouldn't believe there is a farm inside of it.

"consider this" will be right back.

welcome back. we're discussing the nation's immigration system as seen through the eyes of young people raised here since they were small. our community is lighting up twitter tonight. >> they're talking about the shaming that happens. look at not so silent majority,

some from africa tonight want to be more visible. >> tina, talk about that, about the stigma that exists within these communities. >> yeah. actually, i heard the statement made. people don't feel comfortable of diverse backgrounds coming out, because there's no one to set an example. there's cultural differences. it's not something to be proud of. it's something that people are ashamed by. i mean, i was guilty throughout high school. i kept it to myself, and when i came out, most people didn't understand or believe me. then it makes it difficult for me to be part of a community where i'm looked at in a different manner. when i was organizing, i would hear all types of stories, but the narrative that was out there that was just a hispanic narrative. i knew for that narrative to change, people of diverse

backgrounds just like kevin and alden had to come out and share their stories and add the precedence up by the his panic and latino communities and join forces and say we're from different, diverse backgrounds and we're all americans. we need to fix the system for all of us. >> alden, what's the next step? how do you keep the discussion a live and continue to remind people immigration reform is not one size fits all? >> i believe we have to lead by example. this is why i started the international youth association. we have to come out and let people know that we are proud of where we came from, and we are happy with where we are right now. it's a shame that in our communities, especially in the caribbean community, we had the parade today and everyone was excited to show where they're from. every other day of the year no one comes out and says, this is

who i am, and i'm proud of where i'm from. we're bringing awareness to immigration reform and hope to amend the bill so that it's inclusive to as much people as possible. everyone came here with dreams. everyone deservies that path wa for citizenship. >> he has suggestions. dreamers need to work with organizers to get their stories out. stories, narratives, to get their stories out there and develop a grassroots presence. telling stories plus relations plus account act leads to power. what's your tauts on -- thoughts on that moving for? >> i think that's why we got the daca program in 2012. it didn't happen because the president got out of bed and felt like creating the program one day. he was pressured into it by months and months of dreamers protests and making it known that they're here and not going

anywhere and they're as american as your kids and your neighbors. >> kevin, i've got about 30 seconds left. you hopeful? >> i'm always hopeful for, you know, our community and so many -- 11 million undocumented people. we're here to contribute, and i'm currently an immigrant rights activist at the corrinian resource center. we workday and night on the dream writers campaign and we have a dream podcast. >> i'm going to have to pause you there, kevin, because we're out of time. thank you to aum all of you for taking part in this conversation and sharing your story. until next time, we'll see you online.

good evening. welcome to al jazeera and our special coverage of the conflict in syria. i'm john siegen that willer in new york. president obama has a week to firm up the congressional votes he needs for a strike on syria. leading republicans are now warning that a vote against an attack would be a disaster for america's credibility. this afternoon the president met with john mccain and lindsey graham. both want more than the limited strikes the president wants. >> if the congress were to reject a rol