The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors bill (Dream Act), which is sponsored by Senator Richard Durbin from Illinois, would give some illegal immigrants a chance to become U.S. citizens. The Dream Act would "grant six years of legal residency to high-school graduates who have lived in he U.S. continuously for five years and arrived by the age of 15. They would become eligible for citizenship if they attend college or serve in the military for two years during the legal residency period" (Miriam Jordan, Wall Street Journal). Although the Dream Act would encourage youths to go to college and join the military, the bill can be likened to an "amnesty program for children whose parents broke U.S. immigration laws" (Miriam Jordan, Wall Street Journal).
In opposition to the Dream Act, Senator Jeff Sessions of Alaska thinks that the Dream Act would encourage more people to illegally immigrate to the U.S. Sessions said, "when you take a policy that says you are going to reward people who have entered our country illegally with a guaranteed pathway to citizenship, and with billions of dollars in financial aid or benefits they would not otherwise be entitled to, what message are we sending?" First of all, to refute Sessions' argument, the Dream Act would not "guarantee" illegal immigrant youths a "pathway to citizenship." Indeed there will be a possible pathway to citizenship, but only if the youth meets the requirements of the act. The requirements include: the youth must not be "deportable under specified grounds of the Immigration and Nationality Act," "has never been under a final order of exclusion, deportation, or removal," and "is a person of good moral character." (www.govtrack.us) Personally I don't think the "person of good moral character" requirement is specific enough. Who is to say what constitutes to "good moral character?" Sure, there are some pretty objective ones like the youth should not have murdered anyone because that's a serious criminal offense, but what if the youth shoplifted once? Does that make the youth ineligible because it's bad "moral character?" The bill should be more specific and define "good moral character." I do, however, agree with Sessions in that the youths would be rewarded with financial aid and other benefits that would cost billions of dollars. Perhaps I partially oppose the bill because I am applying to college and I can use all the money that I can get, but I oppose the fact that the youths would be able to receive "higher education assistance" that would otherwise go to citizens who also need the money. Although I also don't think that we should be "reward[ing]" people who have entered the U.S. illegally, I don't have a problem letting the youths join the military if they are patriotic and want to. The college part of the bill just poses a problem to me because of the whole financial aspect of it and how funds will be distributed. It's hard to say if the Dream Act will actually encourage people to illegally immigrate to the U.S., but it definitely adds to the reasons to do so because of the increase of opportunity to not only get higher education in college, but also to gain citizenship. A striking number is that "about 825,000 youngsters in the country illegally would likely qualify for legal status under the bill" (Miriam Jordan, Wall Street Journal). The military does seem to generally support the Dream Act because, as Louis Caldera said, "recruiters at stations were telling [her] it would be extremely valuable for these patriotic people to be allowed to serve our country."
8 comments:
Illegal immigration is a topic that separates my compassionate side with my wanting-fairness side. On one hand, there are these immigrants that most likely immigrated illegally because of financial problems and are in deep need of help. One the other hand, they are simply not legitimate. They siphon off from the prosperous because they need to survive.
I feel like simply GIVING them residency and citizenship because of the amount of time they have spent here is not the right method of going about this. If we are to give any legitimacy to illegal immigrants, then they will have to earn it. I.E. Serving in the military, doing civil service, doing environmental maintenance, etc.
I admire what Andrea said:
"I also don't think that we should be 'reward[ing]' people who have entered the U.S. illegally..."
Not only does does this act prevent a much needed form of amnesty for people struggling to find a better life for his/herself, but it would also make an individual eligible for full citizenship if they attended college or served in the military. This would keep them , to use a cliche, "off the street" and motivate them to do something with their life in order to become a much-sought-after citizen of the United States. I do support an amnesty program for immigrants coming to America... the land of opportunity.. and the Dream Act seems to function in a way that is both helpful to the U.S and to the individual.
I feel that while this act is good because it will help those in search for a better life, it also takes money away from those in America that need the money (as Andrea said, those going to college). I would like to help illegal immigrants gain legal status here, but can America afford to do that right now with the recession we're in and various other problems? Is it really the right time to address this illegal immigration problem right now?
Illegal immigration is something that cannot be rewarded. Simply allowing those who sneak their way into this country to have citizenship and enjoy the rights of the majority of law-abiding citizens is the wrong way to implement a "dream" (lowercase "d"), act. This is a dream, and, like the "American Dream," (a house, two kids, white picket fence) has never really been achievable because there are too many factors that account into it. In a time where accused trespassers have been held for many months in the Middle East when they probably did not intentionally cross borders, the United States should not just grant citizenship to people who intentionally break the law.
Although I obviously feel strongly about this, it is not to say that I think all illegal immigrants should be deported. People yearn for the life of Americans, and they have a right to do so. Even in the recession, we are still a major global player and the government does a better job of maintaining a republic than other oppressed countries. The number of people "on the street" might be potentially lowered and people would live actual better lives, not ones tainted with the fear of deportation or the sting of poverty compared to those around them. However, like a commentator on the act mentioned, the act should be less vague in determining morality. There is much to be worked on, and I hope that the nation will also be prudent in addressing such issues.
In response to Eunice's statement, I agree that the United States probably should not be working on such issues at a time of national crisis. There is simply no money to be spent because of our national debt, and we should probably be focused on making our nation better than dabbling in a plethora of social issues. Money has always been an issue in capitalistic societies, and the United States simply wouldn't benefit from the act (monetarily) because there is no "give back" of funds. A proposal for this act could be to purchase an application for citizenship so that some funds can be provided for the hiring of workers to examine the applications and carry out the granting of citizenship.
I find it hard to take a position on the topic of Immigration because there's a lot of moral issues like equality that conflict with practicality issues (like letting everyone come to America if they want to). Although my mind's divided concerning Immigration, I don't believe in this bill because I believe that it would create more problems while solving only a few problems. I believe that this is somewhat like "rewarding" illegal immigration, and this will most likely encourage illegal immigration. And the military part of this bill doesn't seem so beneficial. While it does bolster our nation's defenses, it just seems wrong to me to have this alternative choice of gaining citizenship be a requirement to risk his/her life in order to serve the country. Being in the military is a prestigious and honorable job, but people shouldn't be forced into it either unless necessary.
As an immigrant myself, I can understand where the people behind this bill comes from and why people would approve. But no. It's not okay.
First of all, like Eunice said, the U.S. has enough financial problems as it is. This bill is a superfluous spending that benefits those who cannot give back to building the economy for another decade or so.
Secondly, this is an incentive for more illegal immigration. Even if not all immigrants come to the U.S. to get an education, this is one more way for people to stay in the country legally and work. Many foreigner join the military these days because they can acquire citizenship and other social benefits because they lack the education necessary to get decent jobs. Let's face it, not everyone joins the military because they are patriotic. The Dream Act only encourages more people to seek the benefits of being part of the military instead of doing it for honor and love for their country like Tony said.
Thirdly (and somewhat cynically on my part), what about those immigrants who came here legally? Is it fair? America is about equal opportunities, but isn't this being too generous?
I, myself, am an immigrant and this bill affects me very much. Today, after school, my mom told me that the Dream Act did not pass and when I heard this, I was so mad and disappointed. She told me that out of 60 voters, 56 approved this bill and the other 4 Republicans turned it down, therefore not passing this bill that affects many young students like me. My mom also told me that the government will try to pass again this bill next year, but what about those students who will be graduating from high school in May 2011? What are we supposed to do?
I agree with Bryce in that many people come to this country, pursuing a better future for their families and for themselves because they cannot do this in their native lands. I also admire Bryce for saying, "the Dream Act seems to function in a way that is both helpful to the U.S and to the individual."
The majority of the people that enter this country do so in order to work their butts off and obtain a minimum salary in whatever job position they can fill to live a more stable life than they would in their own countries.
I find it very ironic when citizens of this country say that this is the "land of opportunity". I find it ironic because if it were the "land of opportunity", then this country would be offering help and countless opportunities to those who come to America to fulfill their "American Dream" and to those "aliens" like they call US (yes, because I AM one of them at the moment) who come to this country to learn and work in order to be someone who will prosper in this land as a person who obeys the law and wishes nothing more than to live a better life than the one they had being living in their homeland.
And last, but not least, I do think that this is the proper time for the government to address this issue because Obama PROMISED during his campaign in 2008 that he would work on an immigration reform, and yet we are still waiting for an amnesty to happen.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100916/pl_nm/us_obama_immigration
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