“This amendment will ensure that millions of children who grow up as Americans will be able to get the education they need to contribute to our economy,” Harry Reid stated while justifying the DREAM Act.The provisions of the DREAM Act would permit youthful unlawful migrants who made entry into the U.S. sooner than age sixteen, and have lived in the U.S for five years at least, to receive lawful status if they go through background verifications, receive education or work in the armed forces for at least two years.“By bringing the long-overdue DREAM Act to a vote, Senator Reid has shown that he agrees with 70 percent of Americans who want to provide undocumented young men and women a chance to apply their full potential to making our country a better place to live,” said Tyler Moran who serves at the National Immigration Law Center.
The vote has being met with both celebration and criticism. The Dream Act has been added as an amendment to the defense spending bill, which itself was already controversial because it includes a repeal of the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy.Critics say neither issue should be grouped in with defense spending but Dream Act supporters are just happy it is being put up for a vote.A group of Arizona State University are undocumented and were all brought to the United Sates by their parents in the 1990s.Yadira Garcia tells 3TV, “I didn’t choose to come. My parents brought me when I was 7 yrs old." She says it has been a constant challenge. Gabriela Perez says, “I graduated this June with a bachelor’s in speech and hearing science." Still, she is jobless and without citizenship both their degrees are not doing them any good.The DREAM Act is a bipartisan proposal, which would create a pathway to citizenship for thousands of young students who were brought to the United States years ago as children. If Congress fails to act this year, another entire class of outstanding, law-abiding high school students will graduate without being able to plan for the future, and some will be removed from their homes to countries they barely know. This tragedy will cause America to lose a vital asset: an educated class of promising immigrant students who have demonstrated a commitment to hard work and a strong desire to be contributing members of our society.
One of the ideas behind the DREAM Act is to better utilize the taxpayer dollars that are being used to educate illegal immigrant youth in public schools across the country. If these youth are willing to continue their education through additional schooling or through the military, they would be allowed to become a legal part of our society without the fear of losing their families through deportation. In addition, the DREAM Act initially only benefits those who most likely were taken across the border by their parents through no decision of their own. Many of these individuals have spent more years illegally in the United States than in their home countries.The DREAM Act could be merged with other legislation as part of comprehensive immigration law reform in 2010. If other ideas do not receive the necessary support from members of Congress, the DREAM Act could be enacted without additional reform measures. Either way, even the proposal of such legislation gives hope to many people now living in the United States who currently have no way of becoming a legal resident.
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