House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is reportedly determined to call for a vote on The DREAM Act during this brief Congressional lame duck session, for three main reasons:
- Because it's the right and moral thing to do. Clearly. As President Obama explained in July 2010, "... we should stop punishing innocent young people for the actions of their parents by denying them the chance to stay here and earn an education and contribute their talents to build the country where they've grown up. The DREAM Act would do this... "
To refresh your memory, one of the cruelest, and most illogical, aspects of current U.S. immigration laws is that of the fate of young adults who were brought to this country illegally as small children by their parents. The DREAM Act, which is an acronym for Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors, would cure this injustice. (See quick-reading details at Profile of the DREAM Act.)
- Because Latino voters are a large and growing portion of the electorate, and a significant portion of registered Democrats. Latino voters made the difference in reelecting three Democrats to the U.S. Senate in 2010: Barbara Boxer in California, Michael Bennet in Colorado, and Harry Reid in Nevada.
In California's gubernatorial race, 22% of all votes were cast by Latinos. Democrat Jerry Brown easily prevailed largely because he won 73% of the Latino vote, versus a paltry 18% for Republican Meg Whitman.
Latinos will make the difference in reelecting President Obama 2012, just as this newly powerful voting bloc put him in the White House by turning formerly red-states Nevada, Colorado and New Mexico Democratic-blue in November 2008.
Democrats must prove to Latino voters that they're attempting valiantly to correct the unfairness and cruelty of present-day immigration laws. Passing The DREAM Act would go far to prove Democratic loyalty to its crucial Latino constituency.
- Because The DREAM Act may vanish for many years if not passed by Congress in 2010. That would be a tragedy for a generation of smart, hard-working, law-abiding young adults who want to contribute to our country.
And would be a stupidly short-sighted loss for the United States.
Comments
So California’s Sanctuary Cities copiously engorge themselves on taxpayer’s money, thanks to the return of Sen. Barbara Boxer and Jerry Brown. Los Angeles county and San Francisco is drowning in public entitlements being given away as freebies to millions of illegal aliens. Senator Barbara Boxer and ex speaker Nancy Pelosi are hard line liberal progressives, who ideology is you don’t have to work for a living as government will pay your way. Even the US Court system is stacked against representing the citizen? It’s absolutely irrational that any court should allow illegal aliens to pay in-State tuition for education. However–children of citizens outside of any state must pay full tuition? Senator Harry Reid who squeaked back to the Senate is another member of the Liberal extremist groups, who has sold his soul for large minority votes, promising the Dream Act–a sleight of hand, to pass a De-Facto Amnesty. The Dream Act will not only reward students of criminal aliens, who stole through our borders. But will also function as a sponsored pass for the whole families to arrive after the newly naturalized students use the “Chain Migration Act” to open the gates to their Immediate Relatives—the spouse, minor children, and parents of adult U.S. citizens.
Chain Migration refers to the unceasing and often-snowballing chains of foreign nationals who are allowed to immigrate as the law allows citizens and lawful permanent residents to bring in their extended, non-nuclear family members. This Chain Migration is the primary mechanism that has caused legal immigration in this country to quadruple from about 250,000 per year in the 1950s and 1960s to over one million a year since 1990. As such, it is one of the chief menaces in America’s current record-breaking population boom and all the attendant sprawl, congestion, school overcrowding, dwindling energy supplies and other impacts that reduce American’s quality of life. This type of immigration is very dangerous to our society as the US population is beginning to see the light, from the costs brought to them in higher taxes from catering to the illegal alien population by Liberal zealots.
The Lame Duck Dream Act would explode our population even more and as the Heritage Foundation has projected, at a cost of 2.6 Trillion dollars and millions more uneducated relatives. This certainly will put our Social Security at risk. Senator Reid, Barbara Boxer Diane Feinstein and the creeping fetid fringe groups of Liberal lawmakers are not concerned with the costs, but the amount of votes extended to them by grateful minority blocs in future election, the lobbyists secretive bribes and a need to exert their influence upon America. Harry Reid branded himself as pro-amnesty, pro-illegal alien, when he severed E-Verify as a mandatory law. It’s beyond comprehension that Harry Reid would try for the passage of this Dream Act, when our schools are overcrowded with the children of illegal aliens, the massive cost to taxpayers and the terrible reality of the 15 million jobless rates in this nation. This will add even more red ink to our US deficit and certainly not riding the favorable wave of the Tea Party, to lower taxes and reduce a over encroaching federal government.
Any new incremental Amnesty–as that is what the Dream Act is, will just keep on attracting the forever poor and desperate across our borders. We must secure our border with an electrified fence, stop the drain on our social services by pregnant women who intentionally birth their children here, to take advantage of instant citizenship for the infant; so all family members can stay. Now is the time to release your anger on all members of Congress, by calling (202)224-3121 beginning this Monday? Learn the reality of illegal immigration at NumbersUSA and which politicians are corrupted at Judicial Watch.
Numbers USA is a right-wing site Francis. All the info in Number USA is disproportional, I wouldn’t be surprised if they wanted to oust Native Americans.
The Dream Act is a noble cause, but would result in more illegal immigration. Even more illegal immigrants will come here and have babies in the Emergency Roon (for free) and soak up all the social benefits available.
Americans arn’t feeling very generous. Far too many of us are unemployed and millions of us are losing our homes. I believe most Americans oppose this.
The proper way to pass this, is to first secure the border and pass E-verify.
Magyart, I agree that Congress needs to pass E-verify, and, as best as possible, to secure the border.
I have to tell you, though, having lived in Southern California for my entire life, the U.S.-Mexico border will never be perfectly sealed. We need to ensure that the U.S. is making it best effort, and be realistic: in the entire history of the state of California, its southern border has never been fully sealed off from illegal entry.
However, The DREAM Act affects young people already here through no fault of their own. E-verify and border security are separate issues from dealing with their fates.
It’s funny how a simple comment will lead all ignorant right wing individuals to become quite knowledgeable in a subject they never cared to learn about. First the Dream Act is the most Bipartisan bill there is at this point, and the Republicans have made sure not to let a chain immigration reaction happen as Francis suggests. This bill is only for students, not their parents, siblings, and or any other individuals once they students meet all the requirements.
When the courts ruled AB 540 was in compliance with Federal law is because it is, a large portion of people who take advantage of this law are US citizens. If you were to read the laws before you go crazy on how immigrants are taking your jobs, your resources, do a little research first. But I agree all immigrants come here to take all the freebies they can get, they line up for social security benefits, don’t pay taxes even when they purchase something, and most importantly they don’t work. Let’s become an educated America and actually try to learn why this problem is getting larger every year, Google NAFTA.
This is nothing but vote buying from the moochers at tax payer expense. Until Obama is Impeached for aiding and abetting criminals and our border is secured this will remain a major fiscal problem. Pelosi does nothing but insult our ancestors who came here and went through the legal process. She and Reid belong in the same prison as the illegal’s.
I think the DREAM Act is a good bipartisan solution to some of the immigration problems and it should be passed. It sends the right message that although they should not be here illegally, they were not involved in the choice to break the law so we should give them the opportunity to make it right through their own efforts. It doesn’t take jobs from Americans, it gives employers more qualified applicants to choose from. It doesn’t take college slots from Americans, it lets universities choose and educate the most qualified students. We need to secure our borders, but the DREAM Act has been held hostage long enough by both sides of the issue trying to get open or closed borders included as a condition of passage. In the mean time we punish the true victims of their parent’s crime.
I can’t believe how ignorant some people can be. This is a good start to fixing our broken immigration system. Even illegals pay sales tax on all purchases made in this country. There are some illegals that work here illegally but still have gotten an ITIN number and pay income taxes just like us Americans. Granted not all of them do. Just like the illegals, there are Americans that are bottom feeders and take advantage of the free ride that the government has set up (welfare, food stamps, WIC). How can you sit here and rant about the illegals when there are plenty of Americans that don’t want to work and live off the system. That should be a crime, but no one wants to talk about them. The DREAM Act is not rewarding anyone. It’s giving children the opportunity to give back to our country for the effort that they put in to their education.
Perhaps MS. Deborah White should take a crash course in Spanish and slide across the southern border and become a full fledged Mexican citizen. The facts she has ‘twisted’ in her article is typical of the left wing radicals who have hijacked our Democrat party and they are hell bent on destroying our country. We have no need to fear foreign terrorists, as we have our very own homegrown left wing radicals, that we refer to as Democratzi’s. The Republicans need to weed out the RINOS from their party and we need to weed out the DINOS in the Democrat party. Let’s start with Pelosi, then Reid and finally we cna Hope we can CHANGE Barack Hussein Sotero Obama’s mailing address in 2014.
We’re always complaining about how the Mexicans don’t contribute to our society and that they’re a drain on the system and yet, we don’t want to allow in people who would contribute greatly to America. If we really want Americans who could do just that, then why not allow them in? We need these people here. I want them here and I fully support the DREAM Act.
I am opposed to both legal and illegal immigration. This country is overpopulated, and 21 million Americans are out of work.
If the Dream Act does not pass this year, it will be a real tragedy for America and a real tragedy for the smart, hard-working young adults who have been here since little children and who feel American. One of them is my son, who graduated with high scores in Finance from a good University he is multilingual, a super hard worker, praised by his employer but had to leave his job because of Everify. I came to America looking for a better life for my children, unfortunately when i was able to regularize my status, my son was too old to be included.I didnt ask for him since he was ALREADY in the US and I was afraid that he will get deported. There is nothing for him back in the country he was born. Our family is here, his memories as a child are form here, his friends are here. His ‘mother tongue’ is English. He has so much to contribute to society. He is a smart wonderful boy, a great leader, and I have tears in my eyes that he is now sitting at home in fear and dispair.
I read all the racist comments in many blogs that praise Everify; they are so full of anger, but i feel sorry for those poeple; they must feel very inferior that the only way to get a job is to take it away from a QUALIFIED worker not because of his lack of merit or effort, only because of his immigration status.
If you think this land is only for Americans and Not for immigrants, then give it back to the Native American Indians, under the simple twisted justification of your xenophobia, they should be the only ones entitled to be here.
A desperate mother.