Heavier than the books Mariano Cardoso had to carry to class at Capital Community College in Hartford, Connecticut, was the weight of the deportation order he lived with for nearly three years. Recently, the 23-year-old not only graduated with an associate degree in liberal arts, but he had the order of removal lifted thanks to a hard-fought, high-profile campaign. With the help of his community, Connecticut Gov. Daniel P. Malloy, U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, and a lengthy petition, Cardoso had the deportation order halted. He says the process shouldn't be this arduous for students like him--dubbed DREAMers--who would be eligible for the DREAM Act if it passed. The DREAM Act would grant undocumented immigrants who were 16 years old or younger when they came to the United States a path to legal status and, eventually, citizenship if they enroll in college or the military. Despite support from President Barack Obama, the bill has languished in Congress for a decade. Now that Cardoso has graduated, he plans on continuing to take community college classes and applying to Central Connecticut University. Still, he will have to deal with living as an undocumented student.