Undocumented metro students sent to a D.C. jail after risking deportation for the sake of others

KANSAS CITY, Missouri - The Dream Act lost momentum in 2007. Three years later, the young people it could affect are risking everything to tell their stories.

Ricardo Quinones and Diana Martinez returned to the metro Saturday night after a short stay in a D.C. jail.

The 20-year old boy and 18-year old girl were arrested for disorderly conduct.

Quinones says police warned them three times, "They gave us a second warning. ‘Are you sure you want to get arrested?’ ‘Leave now without anything happening to you.’ They even told us, 'you might be deported'."

That’s the ultimate threat for Quinones and Martinez because they are not American citizens.

Fear aside, they held their ground.

Martinez explains, "There's nothing to lose now."

The two were part of a bigger group of 20 'Dreamers' that performed a sit-in to encourage members of Congress to pass the Dream Act.

It’s a piece of legislation that would give undocumented youth a six year path to citizenship. The requirement is that each young person either gets a college degree or serves two years in the military. Those eligible would have had to be brought to the U.S. before the age of 16.

Quinones says they are ‘Undocumented and unafraid.’

He’s unafraid to speak up now because he believes his voice will help the 65,000 high school graduates each year who have limited futures.

According to the Dream Alliance, without a state I.D. or social security number, high school grads have limited options.

Martinez found that out the hard way. When applying for college, she couldn’t compete for scholarships because she is undocumented.

She says the nine digits that make up a social security number would mean the world to her, “It feels like such a privilege that people honestly take advantage of."

Quinones explains his passion, “If we keep in silent and don't do anything about it, the same things are going to happen over and over again. But if we decide to do something about it, that's when some movement will happen and something positive will happen."

Martinez and Quinones were only held in jail for a few hours, others in the group spent the night in jail.

To learn more about their cause, log onto the Dream is Coming website .