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Laurene Powell Jobs promoting US immigration reform with new website

Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, has given a rare interview to promote her new website advocating the "Dream Act" for immigration reform.

Powell Jobs spoke with Yahoo's The Lookout news blog and revealed her interest in the Dream Act was sparked by College Track — an after-school program she founded in 1997 to help underprivileged high school students prepare for college.

The website is called "The Dream is Now," and it can be found at thedreamisnow.org. It features videos from illegal immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children — the same people who would be aided by the "Dream Act," which provides an opportunity for permanent residency.

Powell Jobs completed the project, which launched on Tuesday, with filmmaker Davis Guggenheim. He was previously responsible for the films "An Inconvenient Truth," which features former U.S. vice president and current Apple board member Al Gore, as well as "Waiting for Superman."

The Dream Act has floated around congress since it was first introduced in 2001, but has failed to pas. It would allow people under the age of 30 who illegally entered the U.S. before they were 15 and who have lived here for more than five years to earn legal status. From there, they could potentially become U.S. citizens.


Laurene Powell Jobs at the 2012 State of the Union address.

Powell Jobs said she and Guggenheim wanted to enact a "demystification" that would "put a face to these people." The website offers their individual stories in an effort to support passage of the Dream Act.

Last year's State of the Union Address was attended by Powell Jobs after she was invited by President Barack Obama. The widow of Steve Jobs was seated behind First Lady Michelle Obama in the balcony box of the U.S. House of Representatives.