As the DREAM Act inches closer to becoming a reality for undocumented youth, local advocacy groups are doing what they can to garner support for the pending legislation.

If approved, the measure would grant legal status to hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants who were brought here as children.

In Union City, where we have large Latino, Filipino and Indian immigrant populations, Congregations Organizing for Renewal and Filipino Advocates for Justice are taking measures to raise awareness and ensure Tri-Cities residents' voices are heard.

Congregations Organizing for Renewal, a faith-based network founded at Our Lady of the Rosary in Union City and serving southern Alameda County, will rally today at noon at Chabot College in the Cesar Chavez courtyard.

The organization will hold a press conference, followed by a phone banking session where members will make calls to Congressmen. (For further event details, click here.)

Filipino Advocates for Justice and Asian Law Caucus will hold a DREAM Act workshop to make sure residents know their rights. The workshop will be held at 6 p.m. at the Filipino Advocates for Justice's Union City office and will include a screening of an Asian Law Caucus short film, "A DREAM A Part," which can also be viewed online. The organization is also urging its members to call their representatives, with a target goal of 10,000 calls.

First introduced in 2001 and officially known as the Development, Relief, Education for Alien Minors Act, the bill would give undocumented students who arrived in the U.S. before the age of 16 an opportunity to gain legal status.

The student must have a clean criminal record and must have graduated from high school and completed at least two years of military service or study at a university in order to be eligible.

According to Christopher Punongbayan, deputy director of the Asian Law Caucus in San Francisco, there are 2.1 million undocumented youth who could potentially benefit from the passing of the DREAM Act. Legal status would offer an opportunity to receive financial aid grants to help further their education.

With Congress in a lame duck session before a more conservative Congress takes power in January, DREAM Act supporters nationwide are urging their representatives to pass the proposal.  The bill is expected to be voted on later this week, with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announcing on Tuesday that he would move forward on the legislation.

"We don't want families to be torn apart by legislation that is punitive," said Christopher Cara, youth services director with Filipino Advocates for Justice. "We would like to see families unified and to see an end to enforcement-oriented immigration policies."

"We're not trying to bring Arizona to California or anywhere else in the U.S.," he said.

Filipino Advocates for Justice and Asian Law Caucus' Wednesday evening workshop will include lessons on basic rights, such as exercising your right to remain silent if questioned by law enforcement about immigration status, Cara said.

Cara also noted many youth are unaware of their immigration status and can fall out of legal status without knowing it.

"A lot of undocumented youth don't know they're undocumented and assume their parents took care of it," Cara said. "When they get an [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] visit, it's a surprise."

Such was the story of Steve Li, the 20-year-old San Francisco college student who faced deportation to Peru (where he was born but has no familial ties). Li, who was a client of the Asian Law Caucus, reportedly was unaware of his status.

Li's recent high profile case of has helped put the DREAM Act back in the spotlight. His situation serves as an example of why the legislation should be passed, Punongbayan said.

"We're trying to break down the barriers that are preventing not just youth but all immigrants to have meaningful opportunities to integrate into society," he said.