The DREAM Act
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2010-12-07/dream-act
Immigrant advocacy groups have organized protests, hunger strikes and prayer vigils across the United States to rally support for the DREAM Act. The immigration bill offers a path to citizenship for young adults brought to the U.S. illegally as children. Among the requirements for achieving legal status would be two years of college or military service. Congress is expected to take up the DREAM Act this week. Critics argue it would reward – and even encourage – illegal immigration. Supporters say it's a fair way to deal with a problem affecting about two million young people through no fault of their own.
Guests
Angela Kelley
vice president for immigration policy and advocacy, Center for American Progress.
Suzanne Gamboa
immigration reporter, the Associated Press.
Steven Camarota
director of research, Center for Immigration Studies.
Lucy Martinez
sophomore at University of Texas, San Antonio; she's on a hunger strike to raise support for the DREAM Act.
Comments
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Does anyone ever think of the illegals as refuges instead? Does anyone realize the life they are trying to escape from. Why do they risk their lives to sneak across the border to work at a low end job? They should come here legally? It is impossible for this class of people. Where are our "Christian Values"
I know that this a difficult subject and that there is no ideal solution to something that should not have happened in the first place. The best we can probably hope for is an unpalatable but workable solution. And I am not heartless--I had a roommate in college who came from Eastern Europe, and I have a wife who is herself a legal immigrant.
But excellent as this program's discussion is, I find the pro-Dream Act commentary at times more romantic and polarizing than real--A particularly disturbing example was when Diane Ramboa says these kids of illegal aliens are "as American as my kids". I wonder what she think makes a person American.
It is more than just speaking English, with or without an accent. Our culture is based on a respect for the law. We are far from perfect in this, but there are many countries and cultures in which this is not remotely the case, hypocracy aside. (I have spent a number of years working and travelling in several of them.)
Someone who has grown up in a subculture that is based on being illegal is already one step outside of the essential mainstream values of America in a way that is very disturbing. My American family and the neighborhood in which I grew up did not embrace illegal behavior, nor excuse it. But illegal immigrants and their apologists do.
Why can't we speak of illegal immigration in less romantic terms? I had my hair cut yesterday in a barbershop in which one of the barbers, a legal immigrant, spoke quietly of her anger about another barber who was illegally here. Yet no one dares to openly denounce him. So bit by bit we spread the cancer of looking to other way to crime. This is precisely what erodes American culture on a massive scale.
The erosion of our political culture is a serious danger and we are approaching or even at a tipping point.
Why do we want to to flirt with this danger?
The advocates for the DREAM Act say that it will NOT apply to children who arrived in the U.S. after 2005.
BUT if there are good reasons for granting amnesty to this group now, then how do we know that similar arguments won't be made AGAIN, say 5 or 10 or 20 years from now, for an additional amnesty.
Is there any language in the law that says it REALLY won't happen again?
I don't believe that rewarding illegal immigration is the right thing to do especially when we have a huge backlog of legal immigrants waiting in line to get their greencards. This will only encourage more illegals to come. Lets fix the legal immigration system instead.
To say these "young Hispanics" are officer material belies the fact that you must have a BA to be an officer.
My grandfather and father are both LEGAL immigrants from different countries. My grandfather felt illegal immigration was wrong, and that immigrants had a civic obligation to learn and use English. He argued with his mother vehemently on this point. My father waited 15 YEARS to get papers to come here. What is wrong with checking status and deporting those breaking the law?????
Hear, hear.
Would you deny education to the children of ALL people that have comitted an illegal act?
Suzanne essentially said that any contact with the authorities would result in deportation proceedings. That's not the case in Texas where several large cities, including Dallas, are sanctuary cities. The worst that I have heard of is Irving, TX which raised the ire of illegal advocates. Not sure if they implemented it but the plan was to impound cars of people driving without insurance, a violation of state law.
We have lots of illegals in Texas. Several cities have set up locations where they can get shade while waiting for work. Definitely the opposite of Suzanne's worries!
In the real world as we have it I can see a place for the Dream act but I think that we should have some ground rules first:
- I think any illegal who serves honorably in the military should get citizenship.
- I think any adult who came over illegally should not be able to get citizenship. Perhaps legal resident status...
- And I think we should stop throwing up the smoke screen of "immigration reform". We have laws now! Enforce them!
Again we are presented with a false choice: do we let a miniscule group of people regularize their immigration status if they can step through multiple hoops while continuing to persecute their families and friends, or do we continue to persecute all "illegal aliens" (aka people) for having "broken the (evil and immoral) law" by being being born on the wrong side of an artificial line?
We can end virtually all illegal immigration today by simply legalizing immigration. Why not start with a NAFMA (North American Free Migration Agreement) treaty and let people begin to enjoy the same status as tomatoes, plumbing parts, and trucks.
Just yell so I can duck when the Zeta's bullets start flying! ;)
People who support amnesty often say the U.S. Immigration policy is flawed. How is it flawed? We allow 10 million people to immigrate every decade so that they can assimilate. Clearly, the fact that we now have an enormous population of illegal immigrants who do not speak English is evidence that there has not been assimilation of that population. But they did not immigrate here legally. Why don’t our phone systems ask us to press 3 for Italian, 4 for French, 5 for Swedish, or 6 for Korean? Our product packaging doesn’t have these other languages printed on it, and the overhead signs in Target aren’t printed in these and other languages.
Illegal immigrants are also employed illegally because employers are not required to use e-verify; that system is only voluntary.
The excuse used by those opposed to repatriation of illegal immigrants to their countries of origin is that they no longer speak their language or know their countries. Their parents came here not knowing this country and many of them still don’t know this language so that argument is invalid.
Another excuse is that illegal immigrants do the jobs that Americans don’t want to do. Again, this is because employers are often able to pay lower wages to illegal immigrants because employers know they won’t complain since they are here illegally. Thus, the illegal population suppresses wages.
It is a huge problem that needs to be addressed. When the 1986 amnesty bill passed many people said this would encourage more illegal immigration and it did. Those who want to pass amnesty now say we can stop that this time around but they never say how. If it can be stopped, why not say how and do that first?
I agree. To give legal status to the lawbreakers is an insult to all those waiting in lines who have tried to follow the rules. It's all too easy to "overstay a VISA" or sneak over the border. What's the old addage about break the law and ask forgiveness later?
If we make people pay $20 parking tickets, how is it we can reward someone with college tuition when they've broken an immigration law. What about all the other students who can't pay for college. Do you think Mexico will give them tuition breaks?
What are Zeta bullets?
Zeta's bullets. Zeta's are ex-military guys used by the drug cartels to do enforcement, killing, etc. You must not live in Texas (or probably also AZ or CA).
Zeta's bullets. Zeta's are ex-military guys used by the drug cartels to do enforcement, killing, etc. You must not live in Texas (or probably also AZ or CA).
I am a Family Therapist who has been working with Hispanic immigrant families for the last 12 years in Miami and recently moved to Texas. What I have seen is that the majority of the people that come to this country are hard working and brave, they are just like the European immigrants of the past: the bold and the brave who dared leaving everything behind to make a new life in this country. Most of them would have chose a legal way to come to this country if they had had that option (Visas for the type of work they do here).
Regarding the children that were brought here illegally, that is the point: there were brought here, they did not choose to come, many times they no longer feel connected to their country of origin. They are already here, this is their life, what they know and where they want to become adults. Many have dreams to become scientists, teachers, SWAT team members (I hear that a lot from boys), firefighters, ballerinas, etc.... their parents WANT them to become productive, hardworking adults and to have a better life. I believe that if we provide them with the opportunity and the possibility to achieve the American Dream, they will become proud, productive, tax paying American Citizens. If we don't, they will stay here nevertheless and could become the people that will live on welfare for the rest of their lives, the people who will continue to be seen as a burden to society, the resentful youngsters who believe violence and crime is their only option to survive.
If we help them we are helping us too, we are helping our children who will grow up side by side to them. We will be building a better community for all of us. Teach a man to fish and he will have food his whole life....right?
Lets think about the future!! Do we want to spend money on these young people now and obtain the best of them (prevention) or do we want to wait until the become "a problem to society" and invest on jails and correction services??
LauraJD wrote of a potential DREAM student:....." His parents had assumed that their citizenship covered him, since he was a minor when they obtained citizenship. He grew up in the Boston area (his father studied at MIT".......If the parents went through the system and came here legally, and the father was bright enough to get into MIT, seems hard to believe the "we just assumed" excuse. Just sayin'.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPjzfGChGlE&feature=player_embedded
I was just remembering a trip I took to NYC a while back and I was remembering the Statue of Liberty and the inscription on a plaque.
Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me.
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.
I guess someone forgot the words on the Statue of Liberty that we use to be so proud of.
I've been following the DREAM Act since learning about during the Arizona SB 1070 Protest. Here's an article round-up (mostly regional, background):
http://xomiele.blogspot.com/2010/12/dream-act-article-round-up.html
I hope it passes!
I'm a graduate student living in Arizona with an Elementary and Special education degree from Northern Arizona University a graduate degree from ASU in Education and working towers a doctorate next year. I came when I was 14 years old due to the economic hardships in 1994 with my parents after loosing everything. I am currently working as a landscaper par time and doing random jobs. I have paid for all! Absolutely all my expenses of my education. I am willing to serve in the arm forces as well. All I am waiting for is for an opportunity. I considered an exemplary citizen that has taken the opportunities that many unfortunately waste in this country. Gives us a chance!
I'm an immigrant. Albeit from Canada. One of your guests, as well as many Americans I speak with, assume that illegal immigrants simply 'jumped' the line, as if there is a reasonable line and all one must do is fill in the paperwork and wait your turn.
The truth is that there are VERY limited avenues to immigrate. In 2000 I was well educated, English speaking Canadian, with a job offer here in Phoenix. I could NOT get a green card. There existed no avenue. I finally married the man whom I was dated, an American citizen. That is how I got my conditional status. After three years, I applied for and got my green card. After eight years, I finally qualified to become a citizen.
Immigration is a long, arduous process. It costs a lot of money, a lot of emotional fortitude and stamina. During the process, one lives under the threat of denial at any time, making it difficult to lay down roots, purchase property, etc.
As a final comment, I support this bill. It sounds very reasonable, very well thought out and addresses the needs of these people. As as George W Bush once said, 'let's not forget. These are PEOPLE.'
Pretty outrageous to be qualifying the Dream Act as Amnesty. Amnesty is for the forgiveness of crimes committed. Keywords here: "crime", "commit". Is the guest suggesting 2 or 3 year olds have the capacity to commit crime? Is he suggesting they should have knowledge of the law when adult grown up Americans themselves haven't the slightest idea of how their immigration system works, or the laws guiding it?
Alexander Hamilton: you might be right if the legal status conferred on these children did not bring with it the right to immigrate their parents -- those who knowingly broke the law -- once the children become U.S. citizens. This right is not a constitutional one. It is just a part of existing immigration law. So it can be changed.
Thus: modify the Act to disallow child beneficiaries from facilitating legal status for the parents who brought them here. While I believe the two-year college requirement (and "hardship" exemption) remains weak, it is the back-door amnesty for the parents that is the most galling aspect of this legislation.
As a retired teacher (of Apache blood) and mother of one of the UTSA HUNGER STRIKERS, I am totally committed to the passage of the DREAM Act. Our students have inspired so many people at a profound level to engage in discussion and action. Like in the 60's it was primarily student action that moved a nation to stop a war that served only to drive this country into debt, change laws that discriminated against our Afro-American brothers and sisters, and institute new laws that helped bright but poor young people to gain an education. We, as a nation, must see the value of listening to the cries of our young again.
Hi, Aurolina, have you ever wondered "If anyone benefits from those prisons that are being filled with undocumented persons and paid for with our tax dollars, and who those owners of private jails and prisons are?"
Hi, Aurolina, have you ever wondered "If anyone benefits from those prisons that are being filled with undocumented persons and paid for with our tax dollars, and who those owners of private jails and prisons are?"
As lifelong college professional and faculty, we sincerely do not support the Dream Act. It is sloppy and ill-intentioned as it is a political ploy and nothing more.
Also having serious issues with the word 'Dream", we are concerned with how these illegals view our country. A two year stint in any college will not guarantee any sort of 'Dream' existence anywhere, especially in this crowded job market. I fear that the illegals coming to the US are thinking of the 'dream' as a free ride. They come here with nothing and have their hands out. Canada requires one to have a bank account and proof of $10,000 in it! Romancing the mexicans is strictly political ploy by the Democrats for votes!
Thank for posting in regard to one of the most common areas of misinformation about the DREAM act.
Yes, if a person became a legal permanent resident under the DREAM ACT (a process which by itself would take a number of years, depending on the version enacted), they could then become a citizen after five years as a legal permanent resident. Then the person could file a petition for their parents.
One small but fatal flaw to the "it rewards lawbreakers" argument: If the parents are in the US illegally (which would be 100% by definition), they are not eligible to obtain legal permanent resident status until they have resided a minimum of 10 years outside the US. So, yes, approximately 20 - 25 years after the enactment of the DREAM act, the "lawbreakers" might be rewarded after, of course, years of paying taxes and then spending a minimum of 10 years outside the US - not much of a reward.
Amen.
In one hundred years, my great-grandchildren will find it odd that someone once thought that tamales were somehow unamerican or foreign. The DREAM Act will very likely be defeated by Mr. Camerota and the rest of the "throw them all out" crowd this time around, but demographics, time and the fundamental decency of the American voter will eventually carry the day.
History will view Mr. Camerota's phony statistics and glib dismissal of the humanity of all immigrants, documented and otherwise, as just another chapter of anti-immigrant rubbish along the lines of the Dillingham Commission of 1915 or so.
Beating up on immigrants is a fine American tradition dating from before we were actually a country. Ben Franklin was very concerned that the immigrants of his day whose food was strange to him. He was quite sure that their failure to learn English and otherwise assimilate would destroy the American way of life. Of course, he was speaking of the Germans and we all know how hotdogs and sauerkraut have truly destroyed the American way of life.