Nine Chicago-area students were among 21 undocumented students arrested at the Capitol building in Washington yesterday in sit-ins demanding action on the DREAM Act.

Seventeen of the 21 were released today, and supporters believe immigration authorities have not been notified, said Rigo Padilla of Immigrant Youth Justice League, who is in Washington.  The nine Chicagoans were members of IYJL, he said.

In Chicago, local elected officials and immigrant advocates, including ICIRR and Latinos Progresando, delivered a letter to U.S. Representative Mark Kirk urging him to cosponsor the DREAM Act.  The bill would establish a path to legalization for undocumented students who have grown up here and complete college or serve in the military.

In Washington, though, the DREAMers mainly targeted Democrats, sitting in at the offices of Senators Harry Reid, Charles Schumer, Diane Feinstein, Robert Menendez, and Republican John McCain.  Several of the Democrats are cosponsors the the bill, and McCain has supported it in the past but backed off from that position recently.

“These are five champions of immigration reform who have the power in Congress to move the DREAM Act to the Senate floor,” Padilla said.

Schumer and Menendez have argued that the DREAM Act is a diversion from comprehensive immigration reform; Feinstein cosponsored the bill in 2003 but is now pushing legislation allowing agricultural guest workers.

That may be why Senator Richard Durbin, chief sponsor of the bill, had harsh words for the protestors.  His office told The Hill that they’d “crossed the line from passionate advocacy to inappropriate behavior.”

Durbin “believes that we will win this fight on the merits, not through public demonstrations or publicity stunts,” his office said.

It’s not clear, however, that legislators are committed to considering the bill on its merits, without strenuous pressure from outside.  Indeed, just two months ago The Hill reported that Durbin was “holding back” on the DREAM Act out of deference to senators who favor a comprehensive bill – and quoted him saying “I’m not pushing that” and “it’s unlikely we’ll get to it this year.”

In a post at The Dream is Coming, IYJL leader Tania Unzueta says that after her efforts to obtain legal status were stymied, she “pinned a lot of hopes for my future on the 2003 DREAM Act.  It failed.  I hoped again in 2007 [with] the same result.”

The undocumented students model themselves on the civil rights movement – and Durbin might reflect on the importance of the march in Selma in winning passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Immigrant rights advocates are also disillusioned with the Obama administration which, despite words of support for reform, has sharply stepped up deportations.

Yesterday’s actions are part of three days of activities by DREAM Act supporters, including legislative visits, a mock graduation ceremony, and a DREAM Act University outside the Capitol, with professors offering lessons on immigration history and policy, Padilla said.  About 500 DREAMers and supporters are participating, he said.

DREAM Act supporters have held hunger strikes at congressional offices in New York and North Carolina, and three students started a hunger strike at Feinstein’s office in Los Angeles today.

Here are eight reasons to pass the DREAM act immediately.