Students lobby for legal residency - Train rides and campus protests are among the strategies. A bill that could grant green cards is due to come up in the U.S. Senate this fall.

These young adults, brought to the United States by their parents when they were children, tried to explain to commuters why the federal government should give them legal U.S. residency. Without green cards, the students said they could graduate from college but would probably have trouble pursuing professional careers.

Frank Nunez, who has spent 23 of his 24 years in the United States, wore a business suit and boarded the Metrolink train headed to Irvine.

"We want to get the word out, and we want people to see us, to see that we aren't what people think illegal immigrants look like," Nunez said. "A lot of people think of an illegal immigrant as Paco who just crossed the border yesterday and is in front of Home Depot looking for work."

Aboard the train, Nunez approached passengers and said, "Hello, my name is Frank, and I'm an undocumented student," before lobbying for their support of the proposed federal law.

Nunez and other students around California will spend the next several weeks trying to drum up support with more train rides, teach-ins and campus protests promoting the Dream Act, which stands for Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors. The act is expected to come up for a vote by the full Senate before Nov. 16. Opponents blocked a previous vote on the legislation, denouncing it as a reward for the children of lawbreakers.

"For the next two weeks, we will see a lot of activity from immigrant students on college campuses and in high schools and in the community," said Horacio Arroyo, who has coordinated statewide Dream Act initiatives for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles. "They will range from educating undocumented students to what their rights are, to telling them to call their representatives."

In another Metrolink car, Long Beach State student Jessica De Nova made a confession to a fellow passenger.

"It's hard for someone to say it," she said to Greg Ebbensgaard, who was heading home from an Irvine manufacturing job. "But I'm an undocumented student. It's important for me to say it because I want you to get an image of what we look like."

Ebbensgaard looked at De Nova, who wore a black blazer and had her hair in a stylish bob, and said he wanted to learn more about the Dream Act.