Barack Obama said, “I will open the doors of government and ask you to be involved in your democracy again”
Who wants to take the challenge and work for viable change in America? Here is a good beginning!
The problem: Many American students graduate from college and high school each year, and face a roadblock to their dreams: they can’t drive, can’t work legally, can’t further their education, and can’t pay taxes to contribute to the economy just because they were brought to this country illegally by their parents or lost legal status along the way. It is a classic case of lost potential and broken dreams, and the permanent underclass of youth it creates is detrimental to our economy.
Former Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch has said: “In short, although these children have built their lives here, they have no possibility of achieving and living the American dream. What a tremendous loss for them, and what a tremendous loss to our society.”
Yes, these are students who were brought to the United States when they were very young children with no choice in the matter and now find themselves in a legal quandry. They have been raised American. They assimilated naturally into American society. They speak the language and are in all ways American, save for a little piece of paper saying they are citizens. They have behaved as citizens and contributed to American society in a positive way and they can continue to do so with your help.
The solution: The federal DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act), is a bipartisan legislation that would permit these students conditional legal status and a chance to earn eventual citizenship if they meet ALL the following requirements:
- If they were brought to the United States before they turned 16, are below the age of 30,
- have lived here continuously for five years,
- graduated from a U.S. high school or obtained a GED
- have good moral character with no criminal record and
- attend college or enlist in the military.
This is not a gimme program as some will suggest. These students, many of them in their teens and early twenties are already enrolled in institutions of higher education and paying their own way without assistance of public scholarships, grants or student loans.
Why should you care? There is no other pathway to citizenship for these students. Besides the injustice of punishing children for the alleged transgressions of their parents, throwing away the talent we have invested in from K-12 and accruing losses in human and financial capital by deporting talented students is bad public policy. The Social Security Administration has recently stated that we need a net increase of 100,000 immigrants each year to ensure Social Security solvency. Passing the DREAM Act would actually help solve the Social Security crisis by creating a larger taxable base of educated Americans that are already in the United States. It would also free some of the backlog that currently plagues the legal immigration system. Also, the DREAM Act in its latest form, does not grant in-state tuition to any student.
Endorsements: Since 2001, almost a 1000 organizations have officially endorsed the bill. Barack Obama has stated that DREAM Act beneficiaries are “American children for all intents and purposes” and has called this a top priority.
Give them a chance. That’s all they’re asking. They are demanding nothing other than recognition for their accomplishments and a chance to give back to a country they love and support.
Let your voice be heard. VOTE HERE
Loading ...
