Laurene Powell, Steve Jobs’ Widow, Launches DREAM Act Website

The website collects videos of undocumented immigrants describing how their lives would change for the better should the Dream Act pass.

By Jorge Rivas Jan 22, 2013

Steve Jobs’ widow, Laurene Powell Jobs, has teamed up with documentary filmmaker Davis Guggenheim to launch a website and film that urges congress to pass immigration reform for young immigrants. The website, TheDreamIsNow.org, collects videos of undocumented immigrants describing how their lives would change for the better should the Dream Act pass.

"Tell your story, send in a picture, sign the petition and become a part of a living, breathing call to action that Congress can’t ignore. Story by story, voice by voice we will make it happen," reads the main page on TheDreamIsNow.org.

Yahoo News’ "The Lookout" blog describes the project:

To push for passage of the provisions in the Dream Act, Cendy and others agreed to share their stories on www.thedreamisnow.org, a website launched Tuesday by filmmaker Davis Guggenheim ("Waiting for Superman" and "An Inconvenient Truth" ) and philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Apple founder Steve Jobs.

The project allows young undocumented immigrants to submit videos describing how their lives would change if the Dream Act were passed. Others can also submit posts, including teachers, relatives and friends of the young immigrants, as well as those involved in developing policy around immigration. The videos will be posted on the website, and Guggenheim will compile them into a documentary film.

"The documentary becomes a living, breathing petition," Guggenheim told Yahoo News. "These DREAMers are putting everything on the line. When they come out like this, they are saying, ‘I’m ready to risk it all for what I believe.’"

"There needed to be a demystification–to put a face to these people, to hear the individual stories," Powell Jobs told Yahoo News. "They’re our children’s friends. They are people we know. This is a huge national problem that needs resolution."

Powell Jobs told Yahoo News that Florida Sen. Marco Rubio’s recent immigration reform proposals for young immigrants seemed "reasonable and principled," but that she wanted to learn more. "The key is to see the legislation once it’s written," she said.

It should be noted Rubio’s earlier proposal to legalize DREAMers did not include a path to citizenship.