U.S. Immigration Explained Blog

The DREAM Act stands for “The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act”. It was for certain immigrant students who arrived as children, graduated High School, were of good moral character, and lived in the US for 5 continuous years. The purpose of the Act was to allow them the opportunity of gaining temporary residency. This would then allow them to attend higher education or join the military. Within a 6-year time period, if these people proved themselves, they would be eligible for permanent residency. The other qualifying factor is the person must have spent 2 years in military service,  completed 2 years of college, or have 2 years of credit in a 4-year college program.

There are arguments on both sides of the table. Although I do not support illegal immigration, it is a reality this nation, along with many others, is faced with. Along with illegal immigration, you will have people who use public services at citizens’ expense. Yes, this is wrong. But in many cases, the costs have been borne and would it not make sense to take advantage of the intellectual abilities of the people we have educated? As the law stands today, many people who entered illegally depend on their parents for status. If their parents fail or have no method of accomplishing this, the children, that we educated, have to leave. Part of the problem is that they will use the training they receive here in their own countries and compete with us.

The other side of the equation is that some people state that we will be encouraging illegal persons to go to school. Let’s think about that for a minute. I don’t see an easy way to remove everyone who is illegal overnight. No matter what, a country our size will always have some people who can get lost in the system. With that in mind, is it better to have them remain in school or to have them out on the streets? If we do not eventually catch them, then we have more street-trained people who may lack a loyalty to a country that has no respect for their presence here…is that a better solution?

The other side of it is that the military is having issues with enlistment numbers. Unfortunately, without a Green Card, a person cannot enlist. This solves that problem and can offer a bright future to someone faced with a more difficult outcome in life.

I think the DREAM Act should pass as it offers something rather than pretending the problem does not exist. It also offers a great incentive to not have a criminal record. Not a bad idea if you asked me….