We Cannot Afford Not to Pass the DREAM Act: A Plea from Immigration Scholars

In the last days of this year's Congress our lawmakers have the opportunity to pass some form of immigration reform. The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act is a federal bill aimed at providing immigration relief to undocumented students. The passage of this bill would grant as many as 2.1 million youth access to legal residency and limited forms of federal financial aid -- thus removing legal and economic barriers to higher education and increasing the likelihood that these youth have the chance to become full, contributing, members of our society.

In the recent weeks and months the DREAM Act has received key endorsements from President Obama, members of his Cabinet, the business community, organized labor, and educators. In fact, the education community has come out strongly in favor of the bill, as at least 29 higher education associations -- including the College Board and the United Students Association -- and presidents and chancellors at more than 73 colleges and universities across the U.S. have endorsed it.

We, a group of university professors who study immigration and the circumstances confronting these young people, and who have many of these students in our classes, believe passing the DREAM Act is the right thing to do for our nation's immediate interests and for our long term security.

After decades of research it is clear that, by punishing the children of undocumented immigrants, this country is creating a disenfranchised group of young people cut off from the very mechanisms that would allow them to contribute to our economy and society. Policies currently in place have presumed that making life harder would make immigrants go home; this is referred to as "attrition through enforcement." Yet, this has not happened. To the contrary, Congress' failure to pass immigration reform is creating a permanent underclass of marginalized, poorly educated, and low-skilled individuals, surviving in the shadows of society and facing overwhelming economic and social burdens. It is especially troubling and wasteful that some 2.1 million unauthorized children, American in spirit but not in law, are now enrolled in U.S. schools but will not be able to lawfully gain employment at the end of their education.

Over these last weeks and months we have seen our own students -- those who are in our classrooms -- struggle to meet school expenses, graduate from our universities, and then face uncertain futures and the constant risk of deportation. But we have also witnessed their incredible capacity to thrive despite debilitating circumstances. Gaby Pacheco, who, along with 3 others walked from Miami to Washington DC, holds three degrees from Miami Dade College. She dreams of practicing music therapy with autistic children. While her undocumented status keeps her from achieving those dreams, she has not given up. In the face of opposition she has invited dialogue with those who disagree with her. In fact, she embraces these opportunities. Literally. This past June, upon meeting Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, she hugged him. Gaby has lived in the US since she was seven. She loves this country -- her country, the only country she has ever really known -- as much as any of us. What is to be gained from limiting her opportunities?

Critics claim the Dream Act would undermine the rule of law. Yet, we are reminded of Chief Justice Earl Warren's habit of asking "Is it fair?" in deciding big cases. Gaby Pacheco and the millions like her did not choose to violate the law, nor are they responsible for the mess that is our immigration system. Is it fair to sentence these youth to lives in the shadows for having been brought to the U.S. as babies by their parents? We think America is better than this. We can fix this upside-down moral universe by making a down payment on immigration reform, and passing the Dream Act. It is an important step in fixing America's broken immigration system, and it should be passed. U.S. raised children, like Gaby Pacheco, who benefit from the Dream Act will see their hard work rewarded and, in turn, will contribute even more to the U.S., through higher earnings and taxes paid. And they will be our future teachers, community leaders, and professionals. As we think of students like Gaby Pacheco and the impact they are currently making, let us imagine the potential impact -- and multiply it by 2.1 million. The America that we believe in, and that these idealistic youth believe in, would pass the Dream Act.

David Abraham (University of Miami)

Leisy Abrego (UCLA)

Art Acevedo (John Marshall Law School)

Jody Agius Vallejo (University of Southern California)

Gino Aisenberg (University of Washington)

Richard Alba (CUNY Graduate Center)

Raquel Aldana (University of the Pacific)

Gunnar Almgren (University of Washington)

Deborah E. Anker (Harvard)

Frances Aparicio (Northwestern University)

Annette R. Appell (Washington University)

Sabrineh Ardalan (Harvard)

Gabriela F. Arredondo (UC Santa Cruz)

Patricia Arredondo (University of Wisconsin Milwaukee)

Judith F. Baca (UCLA)

Jonathan Bach (The New School)

Xóchitl Bada (University of Illinois, Chicago)

Beth Baker-Cristales (CSU Los Angeles)

Filiberto Barajas-López (University of Washington)

Bob Barde (UC Berkeley)

Frank D. Bean (UC Irvine)

Andrew Behnke (North Carolina State University)

Steven W. Bender (University of Oregon)

Michael Benitez Jr (Iowa State University)

Dina Birman (University of Illinois at Chicago)

Rosana Blanco-Cano (Trinity University)

Judith Blau (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)

Irene Bloemraad (UC Berkeley)

Sarah A. Blue (Northern Illinois University)

Thomas W. Blume (Oakland University)

Deborah A. Boehm (University of Nevada, Reno)

Grant Bogue (Western Illinois University)

Gloria Bonilla-Santiago (Rutgers)

Linda Bosniak (Rutgers)

Christopher Boyer (University of Illinois at Chicago)

Ethel Brooks (Rutgers University)

Susan K. Brown (UC Irvine)

Ronda Brulotte (University of New Mexico)

Simone Buechler (University of Illinois at Chicago)

Hoan N. Bui (University of Tennessee)

Kitty Calavita (UC Irvine)

Jose Zapata Calderon (Pitzer College)

Erik Camayd-Freixas (Florida International University)

Richard Cameron (U of Illinois at Chicago)

Anthony J. Cárdenas-Rotunno (University of New Mexico)

Miguel A. Carranza (University of Nebraska-Lincoln)

Enrique R. Carrasco (University of Iowa)

J. Manuel Casas (UC Santa Barbara)

Alejandra Castaneda (UC San Diego)

Ernesto Castañeda (University of Texas, El Paso)

Bianet Castellanos (University of Minnesota)

Miguel Ceballos (University of Nebraska-Lincoln)

Kara Cebulko (Providence College)

María Elena Cepeda (Williams College)

Jennifer M. Chacon (UC Irvine)

Robert S. Chang (Seattle University)

Jorge Chapa (University of Illinois)

Leo R. Chavez (UC Irvine)

Wai Kit Choi (CSU Los Angeles)

David Coates (Wake Forest University)

Kathleen Coll (Stanford University)

Dave Colnic (CSU Stanislaus)

Frances Contreras (University of Washington)

Maria Cook (Cornell University)

Mathew Coleman (Ohio State University)

Cary Cordova (University of Texas at Austin)

Wayne A. Cornelius (UC San Diego)

Mark Courtney (University of Chicago)

Susan Coutin (UC Irvine)

Elaine Cozort (Kishwaukee College)

Kyle Crowder (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)

Alicia Re Cruz (University of North Texas)

Cindy Cruz (UC Santa Cruz)

Evelyn H. Cruz (Arizona State University)

Paule Cruz Takash (UCLA)

Julia Curry Rodriguez (San Jose State University)

Heather M. Dalmage (Roosevelt University)

Els de Graauw (Baruch College)

Cileine de Lourenço (Bryant University)

Erin Debenport (University of New Mexico)

Alexandra Delano (The New School)

Louis Desipio (UC Irvine)

Pawan Dhingra (Oberlin College)

Eileen Diaz McConnell (Arizona State University)

Julie A. Dinsmore (University of Nebraska at Kearney)

Alesha E. Doan (University of Kansas)

Silvia Domínguez (Northeastern University)

Katharine M. Donato (Vanderbilt University)

S. Renee Domemeir (College of Saint Benedict, St. Johns University)

Roxanne Lynn Doty (Arizona State University)

Julie A. Dowling (University of Illinois)

Joanna Dreby (Kent State)

Cynthia V. Duarte (Notre Dame)

C. Alejandra Elenes (Arizona State University)

Irma Elo (University of Pennsylvania)

James P. Eyster (Ave Maria School of Law)

Cynthia Feliciano (UC Irvine)

Katherine Fennelly (University of Minnesota)

Patricia Fernandez-Kelly (Princeton University)

Les W. Field (University of New Mexico)

Eileen Findlay (American University)

Michelle Fine (CUNY Graduate Center)

Mary J. Fischer (University of Connecticut)

David Scott FitzGerald (UC San Diego)

Chenoa Flippen (University of Pennsylvania)

Estevan Flores (University of Colorado at Denver)

Nilda Flores-Gonzalez (University of Illinois at Chicago)

Nancy Foner (CUNY Graduate Center)

Cybelle Fox (UC Berkeley)

Jonathan Fox (UC Santa Cruz)

Luis R. Fraga (University of Washington)

Luis Fuentes-Rohwer (Indiana University)

Andrew J. Fuligni (UCLA)

Bruce Fuller (UC Berkeley)

Maryellen Fullerton (Brooklyn Law School)

Elizabeth Fussell (Washington State University)

Nancy Gallagher (UC Santa Barbara)

Alyshia Gálvez (Lehman College, CUNY)

Fred Galves (University of the Pacific)

Patricia Gándara (UCLA)

Herbert J Gans (Columbia University)

Emma R. García (Colby College)

Cynthia Garcia-Coll (Brown University)

John Garcia (University of Michigan)

Lisa García Bedolla (UC Berkeley)

Maria Elena Garcia (University of Washington)

María Cristina García (Cornell University)

Matthew Garcia (Brown University)

César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández (Capital University Law School)

Amelia Gavin (University of Washington)

Margaret A. Gibson (UC Santa Cruz)

Denise Gilman (University of Texas at Austin)

Shannon Gleeson (UC Santa Cruz)

Jennifer Glick (Arizona State University)

Placido Gomez (Phoenix School of Law)

Sherri Grasmuck (Temple University)

Frank Graziano (Connecticut College)

Anna Guevarra (University of Illinois at Chicago)

Evelyn Nakano Glenn (UC Berkeley)

Christina Gomez (Northeastern Illinois University)

Roberto G. Gonzales (University of Washington)

Jennifer A. Gonzalez (UC Santa Cruz)

Rachael D. Goodman (George Mason University)

Kirsten Silva Gruesz (UC Santa Cruz)

Anjum Gupta (University of Baltimore)

Elena R. Gutierrez (University of Illinois at Chicago)

Lourdes Gutierrez Najera (Dartmouth College)

Guillermo J. Grenier (Florida International University)

Jacqueline Hagan (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)

William Haller (Clemson University)

Rebecca Hamlin (Grinnell College)

Elaine Hampton (University of Texas at El Paso)

Wen-Jui Han (Columbia University)

Emily Hannum (University of Pennsylvania)

Ron Hayduk (Queens College)

Ester Hernandez (CSU Los Angeles)

Francisca James Hernández (Pima Community College)

Manuel de Jesús Hernández-G (Arizona State University at Tempe)

Rubén Hernández-León (UCLA)

Josiah McC. Heyman (University of Texas at El Paso)

Jacqueline Hidalgo (Williams College)

Barbara Hines (University of Texas, at Austin)

Raul Hinojosa Ojeda (UCLA)

Charles Hirschman (University of Washington)

Katherine Hite (Vassar College)

Jennifer L. Hochschild (Harvard University)

Mark C. Holter (University of Kansas)

Pierrette Hondagneu-Sotelo (University of Southern California)

Jeff Hou (University of Washington)

Evelyn Hu-DeHart (Brown University)

Jon M. Hussey (University of North Carolina)

Alan Hyde (Rutgers University)

Armando Ibarra (University of Wisconsin)

Farah Ibrahim (University of Colorado at Denver)

Jonathan Inda (University of Illinois)

Michael Innis-Jiménez (University of Alabama)

Tomás Jiménez (Stanford University)

Kevin R. Johnson (UC Davis)

Susanne Jonas (UC Santa Cruz)

Michael Jones-Correa (Cornell University)

Hye-Kyung Kang (Smith College)

Daniel Kanstroom (Boston College)

Grace Kao (University of Pennsylvania)

Philip Kasinitz (CUNY Graduate Center)

Leila Kawar (Bates College)

Ben Kirshner (University of Colorado-Boulder)

Jean J. Kim (Dartmouth College)

Norma Klahn (UC Santa Cruz)

Lucas Klein (City University of Hong Kong)

J. Morgan Kousser (Caltech)

Kevin Kumashiro (University of Illinois at Chicago)

Nancy S. Landale (Pennsylvania State University)

Jean-Michel Lafleur (Université de Liège)

Rogelio Lasso (John Marshall Law School)

Sylvia R. Lazos (University of Nevada Las Vegas)

Eunice Lee (Harvard)

Jennifer Lee (UC Irvine)

Stephen H. Legomsky (Washington University)

Jeremy Lehnen (University of New Mexico)

Janxin Leu (University of Washington)

Emily Leung (Harvard)

Laura A. Lewis (James Madison University)

Matthew Lister (University of Pennsylvania)

Iraida H. López (Ramapo College of New Jersey)

Jose Antonio Lucero (University of Washington)

Amy Lutz (Syracuse University)

Aurolyn Luykx (University of Texas El Paso)

Beth Lyon (Villanova)

Patrisia Macias Rojas (Sarah Lawrence College)

Alejandro L. Madrid (University of Illinois at Chicago)

Arturo Madrid (Trinity University)

Daryl J. Maeda (University of Colorado-Boulder)

Lisa Magana (Arizona State University)

Pedro A. Malavet (University of Florida)

Solangel Maldonado (Seton Hall University)

Nicolas Mansito III (Broward College)

Christine Marin (Arizona State University)

Elena Marty-Nelson (Nova Southeastern University)

Helen B. Marrow (Tufts University)

H. Nolo Martinez (University of North Carolina at Greensboro)

Valerie Martinez-Ebers (University of North Texas)

Yolanda Martínez-San Miguel (Rutgers University)

Erynn Masi de Casanova (University of Cincinnati)

Douglas S. Massey (Princeton University)

Shannan L. Mattiace (Allegheny College)

Kathleen McAfee (San Francisco State University)

James A. McCann (Purdue University)

Elizabeth McCormick (University of Tulsa)

Susan McGilloway (The Community College of Baltimore County)

Ligaya L. McGovern (Indiana University)

John Mckiernan-Gonzalez (University of Texas at Austin)

M. Isabel Medina (Loyola University New Orleans)

Miguel A. Méndez (UC Davis)

Cecilia Menjívar (Arizona State University)

Ronald L. Mize (Cornell University)

Susham Modi (Harvard)

John Mollenkopf (CUNY Graduate Center)

Jessica Lavariega Monforti (The University of Texas, Pan American)

David Montejano (Univ of California, Berkeley)

Jennifer Moore (University of New Mexico)

Jaime Morales (University of Colorado-Boulder)

John Morán González (The University of Texas at Austin)

Charlie V. Morgan (Brigham Young University)

Judith Morganroth Schneider (University of Maryland Baltimore County)

Allan Morotti (University of Alaska Fairbanks)

Michele S. Moses (University of Colorado-Boulder)

Hiroshi Motomura (UCLA)

Alison Mountz (Syracuse University)

David A. Muga (Skagit Valley College)

Aurelia Lorena Murga (University of Texas El Paso)

Ratnesh Biren Nagda (University of Washington)

Stephanie Nawyn (Michigan State University)

Joseph Nevins (Vassar College)

Lina Newton (Hunter College, CUNY)

Mae N. Ngai (Columbia University)

Alvaro L. Nieves (Wheaton College)

Katsuo Nishikawa (Trinity University)

Julie Novkov (SUNY Albany)

D. Carolina Núñez (Brigham Young University)

Mariela Nuñez -Janes (University of North Texas)

Stephen A. Nuño (Northern Arizona University)

Kysa Nygreen (University of Massachusetts Amherst)

Suzanne Oboler (John Jay College, CUNY)

Leslie Offutt (Vassar College)

Roy Old Person (Wheelock College)

Michael A. Olivas (University of Houston)

Lorena Oropeza (UC Davis)

Vilma Ortiz (UCLA)

Amalia Pallares (University of Illinois, Chicago)

Hyunjoon Park (University of Pennsylvania)

John S.W. Park (UC Santa Barbara)

Yoosun Park (Smith College)

Emilio A. Parrado (University of Pennsylvania)

Manuel Pastor (University of Southern California)

Susan C. Pearce (East Carolina University)

Gina Perez - (Oberlin College)

Clarisa Perez-Armendariz (Bates College)

Carolyn Pinedo Turnovsky (UC Santa Barbara, University of Washington)

Katy M. Pinto (CSU Dominguez Hills)

Stephen Pitti (Yale University)

Suet-ling Pong (Penn State University)

Pamela A. Popielarz (University of Illinois at Chicago)

Alejandro Portes (Princeton University)

Dudley L. Poston, Jr. (Texas A&M University)

Hillary Potter (University of Colorado-Boulder)

Mike Powe (University of Washington)

Margaret Power (Illinois Institute of Technology)

Michael P. Predmore (Stanford University)

Doris Marie Provine (Arizona State University)

David Alberto Quijada (St. Mary's College of California)

Karthick Ramakrishnan (UC Riverside)

Catherine S. Ramírez (UC Santa Cruz)

Brian L. Rich (Transylvania University)

Jenny Rivera (CUNY)

Zully A. Rivera Ramos (University of Illinois)

Cristian A. Roa (University of Illinois at Chicago)

Eloisa C. Rodriguez-Dod (Nova Southeastern University)

Gloria M. Rodriguez (UC Davis)

Jaime Javier Rodriguez (University of North Texas)

Juana María Rodríguez (UC Berkeley)

Nestor Rodriguez (The University of Texas at Austin)

Victor C. Romero (Penn State University)

Harriett Romo (University of Texas San Antonio)

Gilberto Rosas (University of Illinois)

Eréndira Rueda (Vassar College)

Vicki Ruiz (UC Irvine)

Rubén G. Rumbaut (UC Irvine)

Elena Sabogal (William Paterson University)

Rhacel Salazar Parrenas (University of Southern California)

Leticia Sanchez (University of Colorado-Boulder)

Raymond Sanchez Mayers (Rutgers University)

Otto Santa Ana (UCLA)

Leticia Saucedo (UC Davis)

Leah Schmalzbauer (Montana State University)

Alicia Schmidt Camacho (Yale University)

Ron Schmidt, Sr. (California State University, Long Beach)

Daniel Schugurensky (Arizona State University)

Hinda Seif (University of Illinois, Springfield)

Christina L. Sisk (University of Houston)

Santiago Silva (University of Texas, Pan American)

Heather A. Smith (University of North Carolina at Charlotte)

Michael Peter Smith (UC Davis)

Robert C. Smith (Baruch College, CUNY Graduate Center)

Seema Sohi (University of Colorado-Boulder)

David Spener (Trinity University)

Juliet P. Stumpf (Lewis & Clark)

John Stolle-McAllister (Univeristy of Maryland, Baltimore County)

Paula Straile-Costa (Ramapo College of New Jersey)

Dara Z. Strolovitch (University of Minnesota)

Carola Suárez-Orozco (NYU)

Marcelo M. Suárez-Orozco (NYU)

Christina Sue (University of Colorado-Boulder)

María Socorro Tabuenca (University of Texas El Paso)

Rosaura Tafoya-Estrada (Boise State University)

David T Takeuchi (University of Washington)

Katherine Tate (UC Irvine)

David E. Tavárez (Vassar College)

Margaret Taylor (Wake Forest University)

Karen Ivette Tejada-Peña (University of Hartford)

Edward E. Telles (Princeton University)

Charles Thompson (Duke)

David B. Thronson (Michigan State University)

Marta Tienda (Princeton University)

Maura I. Toro-Morn (Illinois State University)

Van C. Tran (Harvard University)

Monica M. Trieu (Ohio State University)

Alma M.O. Trinidad (Portland State University)

Madeline Troche-Rodriguez (Truman College)

Rita, E. Urquijo-Ruiz (Trinity University)

Sujey Vega (Sam Houston State University)

Zulema Valdez (Texas A&M University)

Edward D. Vargas (Indiana University)

Felipe Vargas (Indiana University)

Lucila Vargas (University of North Carolina Chapel Hill)

Monica W. Varsanyi (John Jay College, CUNY)

Katherine L. Vaughns (University of Maryland)

Carlos G. Vélez-Ibáñez (Arizona State University)

Charles R. Venator Santiago (University of Connecticut)

Rose Cuison Villazor (Hofstra University)

Vinay Harpalani (Seattle University)

Roger Waldinger (UCLA)

R. Stephen Warner (University of Illinois at Chicago)

Paul Y. Watanabe (University of Massachusetts Boston)

Mary C. Waters (Harvard University)

Sophia Jordán Wallace (University of Kentucky)

Jonathan Weinberg (Wayne State University)

Deborah Weissman (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)

Emily Wexler Love (University of Colorado-Boulder)

Ron W. Wilhelm (University of North Texas)

William Julius Wilson (Harvard)

Philip E. Wolgin (UC Berkeley)

Maria Woltjen (University of Chicago)

Richard A. Wright (Dartmouth College)

Joseph E. Yi (Hankuk University of Foreign Studies)

Hirokazu Yoshikawa (Harvard University)

Fahmida Zaman (The Chicago School of Professional Psychology)

Marjorie Zatz (Arizona State University)

Pat Zavella (UC Santa Cruz)

Min Zhou (UCLA)

Marc Zimmerman (University of Houston)

Aristide R. Zolberg (New School for Social Research)

 

Comments

[politician818]

04:56 AM on 01/13/2011

The Dream Act lost. We win.

[JonRobert W Johnson]

06:50 PM on 12/10/2010

It would be nice if the legislators responsible for this bill would give some of the same residency benefits to the members of America's military. I was stationed in Virginia and had to pay out of state tuition fees at the local community college and I am an American citizen. Universities in many states have established residency requirements for tuition that do not reflect the actual residency of the individuals. In 1997, the Kansas State legislature was looking into K-State's residency requirements for an individual who transitioned from active duty to civilian life in 1989 but was still being charged out of state tuition rates because he enrolled in courses continuously from the time he became a civilian. K-State's eligibility rule at the time was that a person had to have at least a semester's break between getting off of active duty and taking classes before they considered him a Kansas resident. The fact that he had been paying Kansas State income taxes for 8 years didn't matter to them.

[StephNawyn]

06:55 AM on 12/11/2010

The DREAM Act does give the same provisions to military personnel as to college students (two years in the military or two years in college makes you eligible for legal status that can later be made permanent).

[dbrett480]

11:39 PM on 12/11/2010

Good point. But legislators don't see helping out military personnel as gaining political points.

[Gx]

05:19 PM on 12/09/2010

Typical liberals, they're only for social justice as far as it doesn't affect their pocketbook. At least the racism of the right is transparent. Remember: the first illegal aliens were the European colonizers. And, remember that the same policies of asymmetrical globalization that have produced the current economic crisis in the United States produce undocumented migration

[voyager48]

03:01 PM on 12/09/2010

Contrary to what is stated in this article, attrition through enforcement is alive and well. The numbers of Illegals has dropped significantly over the last couple of years as Illegals go back to where they came from.

SB1070 has caused nearly a third of illegals to leave AZ.

It works!

[Theo Pauline Nestor]

12:20 PM on 12/09/2010

I support the Dream Act--as would most people if they had the chance to meet just a few undocumented students who have grown up in this country and who are working so hard to make a good life for themselves.

[Joshy X]

06:34 PM on 12/18/2010

a guy who escapes prison is just an "undocumented parolee"...

[politician818]

04:57 AM on 01/13/2011

I disagree. These kids should go back to their home countries and wait in line. Otherwise, we're just encouraging illegal aliens to bring their kids to America.

[corwin]

11:41 PM on 12/08/2010

It's hard enough to take this argument seriously.But,you make it impossible to do so by using the 'fuzzy' term "Undocumented Aliens " for Illegal immigrants .Perhaps you should donate your 'pre owned' auto to some charity.

[Prince Rajan]

06:40 PM on 12/08/2010

I would like to express my support on favor to the Dream Act!

[CelticMajic]

10:07 PM on 12/08/2010

Please feel free to pay for this but please let me use my money to support American Citizens who are out of work.

[RRoadrunner]

04:29 PM on 12/08/2010

This is criminal. For anyone against the DREAM act shame on you. It's attitudes against things like this that's degenerated our society. The politicians know this and feed off of your intolerrance. This easily could have happened to your grandparents or great-grandparents or even you.

[Viper1st]

08:57 PM on 12/08/2010

Okay ~ get your checkbook out & fund it

My checkbook is reserved for 16 million American out of work supporting their 13 million children

[corwin]

11:44 PM on 12/08/2010

RR.Are you able to define what is criminal? Anything you don't like ?
Should there be no restrictions on anyone getting into this country?

[Joshy X]

06:34 PM on 12/18/2010

new fan

[Dave Francis]

04:22 PM on 12/08/2010

MAKE YOUR EMERGENCY CALL TODAY. NOW! CALL YOUR SENATOR OR HOUSE REPRESENTATIVE.

Those taxpayers who have had enough, BOMBARD your Senators with your words and your Members of Congress to oppose the DREAM Act Amnesty -- 202-224-3121 NumbersUSA for details. NumbersUSA will inform you of the truth.

Majority Senate Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois predicts the Dream act will come up for a vote Wednesday. We cannot let Senator Reid and his demagogues lever this badly worded immigration bill in for a vote. With Senator Reid at the helm of his Liberal ship, he cannot be allowed to pass this law--as is? It will cause another Chain Migration avalanche of family members, who eventually will end up on the welfare rolls. This became predominant after first of sixth amnesties that began in 1986 Simpson-Mazzoli bill.

There is absolutely no question that in the coming years, student family members will become a further economic encumbrance on the middle class once --Chain Migration--is underway. Hundreds of thousands or even millions will enter America through Chain migration. Eventually the sponsor cannot or will not support the immediate family members. This burden will fall upon this nations public benefit system.

[BACK-to-REALITY]

03:00 PM on 12/08/2010

How unfortunate that these educated professors are so UNEDUCATED about the details of the Dream Act. People don't have to get a college degree; two years and dropping out is sufficient. Military service is not required, un-armed service in agencies is sufficient. Criminal records are not a bar to the Dream Act.

MOST importantly, we're not talking about the "best and brightest" according to the left-leaning Migration Policy Institute which backs the Dream act. They estimate that 12 percent of those qualified for the DREAM act and who already have high-school diplomas or GEDs either speak English not well or not at all.... That's insane: one out of eight young illegal aliens who have grown up here and have a high school completion credential can't even speak English!

[nee]

11:53 PM on 12/16/2010

They can also lie on the application and they will still get the work visa - and there is no penalty for lying.

[CelticMajic]

01:50 PM on 12/08/2010

Please hold the illegal alien parents accountable. Not the American Taxpayer! Please abide by the law sir.

[gsby]

01:48 PM on 12/08/2010

Why do you think it's okay to "punish" average middle class working AMERICANS for your parents criminal conduct?

You think YOU'RE being "punished"? You have it backwards. Average Americans are YOUR victims, it's not the other way around.

And we are tired of being victimized by illegal aliens. We want our border sealed before any illegal alien benefits from ANYONE'S criminal activity. GET IT?

[Viper1st]

02:37 PM on 12/08/2010

illegals ~ proven law breakers

Not the type of people to reward with U.S. Citizenship

[Debbie McPherson]

02:46 PM on 12/08/2010

gsby
 
IT would be impossible for the govt to implement this plan as it is described - it would end up being just a total amnesty program.

[Steve1976]

01:41 PM on 12/08/2010

How are we going to pay for your dream? It's simply too expensive.

[legalresident]

04:17 PM on 12/08/2010

We can't afford to pass DREAM act when several legal residents are waiting for 10 years for their green cards. Congress needs to act on fixing legal immigration system before taking action on illegals. Congress needs to introduce visa recapture bill ASAP so that skilled immigrants can buy homes, start companies contributing to economy and reduce the deficit.

[hrpmap]

01:16 PM on 12/08/2010

The dream act will become the nightmare tomorrow if it isn;t defeated. The article sites 2.1 million, but that would be for starters. The 1960s family reunification act would then kick in a dnd the chain migration would begin, that would soon become 10ns of millions. Chain migration will become the future nightmare fo Americans. 

[StephNawyn]

06:58 AM on 12/11/2010

The DREAM Act would not apply to people who entered the U.S. after it passed.

[Inkosi]

01:15 PM on 12/08/2010

Well, this certainly did not prevent Gaby from earning three degrees. How did she pay for them? College cost money! Obviously - there was money to pay for this so she could not have been that bad off. On the one hand, I totally understand the "Brain Drain". During the 70's when the Viet Nam people came over - the adults all worked multiple jobs and their children went on to MIT, University of Virginia, Harvard. So, yes many times immigrants are more driven than a US citizen who has enjoyed the benefit of education. On the other hand, they are ILLEGAL. How, in fairness, can they be allowed to "jump" the line ahead of all those who have abided by our laws to enter legally. It is still rewarding bad behavior, I am really torn on this issue. There is good and bad on both sides.