An article on page 1B Saturday incorrectly identified the immigration status of two Miami Dade College student leaders. Juan Rodriguez is a U.S. resident. Gaby Pacheco has a student visa.

Elite schools provide full scholarships for Dade students

Two top-ranked liberal arts colleges have signed onto a program that gives student leaders from Miami-Dade County full college scholarships.

Hamilton College in New York and Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts will accept 10 seniors apiece from Miami-Dade's public high schools.

The students will receive academic support, leadership training, mentoring -- and a full ride.

Rally backs 2 brothers in fight against deportation

In their first public appearance since being released from immigration detention, Venezuelan brothers Jesús and Guillermo Reyes were cheered by friends and classmates Monday during a rally at Miami Dade College in Kendall to support their fight against deportation.

The rally, attended by about two dozen students, turned into a demonstration for the DREAM Act, a long-standing bill in Congress that -- if ever passed -- would give green cards to children of undocumented immigrants.

Jesús evoked the ideals of slain civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King to equate the fight for the DREAM Act to the struggle by blacks for equality. ``My dream is not too different from the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King,'' Jesús told supporters in a speech that often sounded like a preacher's sermon and a clarion call to action.

A second chance, a note of thanks

We want to express our deepest gratitude to everyone who supported our request for temporary relief from deportation. We are thankful to Sen. Bill Nelson, Reps. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, Mario Diaz-Balart, Alcee Hastings, Kendrick Meek, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, Miami Dade College, fellow students, church groups, our lawyers, friends and strangers.

Their assistance and efforts have been invaluable during this difficult time. We thank, too, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Department of Homeland Security officials for giving us a temporary reprieve and the opportunity to continue with our studies. We will work tirelessly and do our best while we are in the United States to give back to the community that means so much to us and to the country we love so dearly.

GUILLERMO and JESUS REYES, Kendall

After accidental deportation, critics say immigration officials making mistakes

Two months after questions were raised about the legality of his deportation by U.S. authorities, a Salvadoran man returned from his homeland Tuesday to a tearful reunion with his wife in Miami.

Meanwhile, friends and relatives of two Miami Dade College students are drumming up support to keep the two men from being deported to their native Venezuela.

The cases, say immigrant rights advocates, have rekindled fears that immigration authorities are stepping up detentions and deportations.