If nearly 50,000 more Texas students had an opportunity to go to college, most would agree that this would be good for our state. This has occurred in Texas this past decade because of the nearly unanimous bipartisan support and passage of House Bill 1403 (the Texas Dream Act) signed by Governor Rick Perry in 2001.

The President’s executive action on Nov. 20, 2014 created the Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA) program, which provides for temporary relief from deportation and possible work authorization to undocumented parents of U.S. citizens or Lawful Permanent Residents.

REPLAY the video of President Barack Obama detailing his plan to take executive action to deal with immigration reform in an address to the nation on Nov. 20. NOWCastSA carried his remarks live on this page via the feed from Whitehouse.gov. The video is archived, so you can replay the webcast right on this page. 

UPDATE, 4:12 p.m., June 29, 2011: With the bang of his gavel about noon Wedesnday, House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, ended the Texas Legislature's special session, leaving the sanctuary cities bill dead in the House.

As I stood on the sidewalk of Commerce Street watching the thousands of people marching by me, people who had come out in support of the International Women’s Day March, I felt a great sense of pride and joy.This pride and joy came from seeing the marchers, especially the women, because many of the faces I saw were of women leaders in our community.

This short documentary follows the plight of a band of University of Texas at San Antonio students who launched a hunger strike last November, urging Congress to pass the DREAM Act.The strike began at the UTSA on Nov. 10, 2010, when several students announced they were "undocumented and unafraid." The young activists vowed only to consume water and fruit juice for as long as it took.

 NOWCastSA was with the DREAM Act protestors when they broke a 43-day fast at the Jefferson United Methodist Church. This video contains exclusive footage of their first meal. They were joined by San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro. The students vowed to continue fighting for the DREAM Act, which would provide a path to citizenship for undocumented people who were brought to this country as children and who spend time in school or in the military.

With help from both members from Texas, the Senate voted Saturday to block the DREAM Act, which would provide a route to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who were brought to this country as children.Only 55 of the needed 60 Senators voted to stop debate on the bill and bring it to the floor for a vote. Texas' Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn were among the 41 who voted against moving forward with the DREAM Act.

Criminal trespass charges have been dropped against 13 of the 16 supporters of the DREAM Act who were arrested after a protest at the offices of Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, a defense attorney said Friday.The 16 protesters, including former San Antonio Councilwoman Mara Berriozabal, were arrested Nov. 29 following a peaceful sit-in at Hutchison’s Port of San Antonio offices.They were demanding to speak to the senator, a Texas Republican who could have been  a key swing vote in the Senate to pass the immigration legislation.

For over a month, students at the University of Texas at San Antonio have followed in Mahatma Gandhi’s footprints, drinking only juice or water in a hunger strike to give legal status to undocumented immigrants who came to the United States when they were children. The hunger strike to enact the so-called DREAM Act has gained national attention and has become a passionate issue for those who say undocumented immigrants brought to the country as minors now face deportation and can’t get jobs even if they obtain a university degree.