Activists across the country have been rallying to show support for the controversial Dream Act which may be voted on later this week, including three protesters who were arrested for protesting at the office of Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., Monday.

The Dream Act would give more than 100,000 illegal immigrants who were brought into the U.S before they turned 16 a chance to become legal residents if they attend college or join the military.

One of the groups rallying to pass the act is Voces de la Frontera, an immigrant’s rights group based in Milwaukee, which works to protect and improve the quality of life for immigrants here in the state and beyond.

Executive Director Christine Neumann-Ortiz said the group has organized many rallies and protests in the last few weeks, one of which sparked controversy in Racine.

On Monday, Voces de la Frontera held a vigil at Ryan’s Racine office to raise awareness and support of the DREAM Act, according to a statement from the organization.

Three of the group’s constituents were arrested at the vigil, including Neumann-Ortiz. They were charged with trespassing after peacefully refusing to leave the office, according to the statement.

Neumann-Ortiz said they were not sent to jail but fined $276.50 each.

Despite the incident at the vigil, Voces de la Frontera is still moving forward to promote the bill. Neumann-Ortiz added they are holding a phone bank later in the week to reach out to congressional representatives in the area.

“We are asking for their support to bring the Dream Act to a vote,” Neumann-Ortiz said. “We also encourage other people in the state to organize phone banks in their areas to spread the word.

Although the Dream Act has the support of many rights groups, several other organizations throughout the state have said they do not think it is the right time to be worrying about immigration reform.

The Federation for American Immigration Reform feels the Dream Act should not be one of the main priorities of the government right now, said FAIR Senior Researcher Eric Ruark.

“I don’t think [the Dream Act] should be the first priority right now, especially with the current economic situation that we have,” Ruark said. “It seems misplaced”.

Ruark said FAIR does not support the bill but on the other hand does not support some criticisms of it, either.

He said they understand the DREAM Act is important to some people who might be depending on it for college, but they do not think using it as a political ploy is appropriate.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is expected to introduce the bill at the end of this week. FAIR plans on continuing its efforts in publicizing the faults of the bill.

Voces de la Frontera has plans to remain in support of the bill throughout 2011.

“We’re mobilizing to get passage of Dream right now, but we need to be working very closely together in 2011 since we anticipate a much more hostile environment in the country,” Neumann-Ortiz said.

– The Associated Press contributed to this report.