Children should not be sucked into the often ugly debate of immigration or penalized for the illegal acts of their parents.
Yet among the 3 million students who graduate from high school each year are 65,000 who entered the country illegally. And while most of them had no say in the matter of joining their parents in an illegal border crossing, once they graduate from high school their dreams of making a better life for themselves in this country often end.
Because public schools aren’t allowed to screen out illegal immigrants, these graduates have received significant U.S. taxpayer investment in their educations.
The DREAM Act, which is gaining some momentum in the U.S. Senate, seeks to help our nation benefit from those investments. In fact, we think the Development, Relief and Education of Alien Minors Act is a common sense solution that would make our nation stronger.
It’s a smart way to bring about some small reform to the problem of illegal immigration. And making it easier for these students, who have grown up and been educated as Americans, to become legal citizens makes good sense economically.
Keeping them in the shadows when they could be openly contributing to society takes away their hope, and with a loss of hope sometimes comes criminal and negligent behavior.
The DREAM Act has had bipartisan support in the past, but is often stalled in the harsh political debate over the problem of illegal immigration.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., now says he will introduce the legislation into a defense policy bill that lawmakers plan to address before exiting Washington to campaign for November elections.
President Barack Obama supports the measure. Colorado’s senators, Michael Bennet and Mark Udall, both support the DREAM Act, too.
We would rather lawmakers address the DREAM Act on its own merits, and not as an add-on to other important legislation. Yes, the DREAM Act contains a military component. But passing controversial measures by attaching them to must-have legislation, such as bills to support the troops, is part of what makes Americans so cynical about Washington.
In fact, Reid’s plans drew fire from longtime supporters of the DREAM Act. Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch, who has voted for the DREAM Act in the past, said last week that the “Senate leadership is insisting on ignoring the will of the people and holding our troops hostage by cynically pushing a defense bill chock-full of controversial measures to score cheap political points with its liberal base.”
Perhaps, but then again, sometimes that’s how controversial bills become law.
The DREAM Act would allow people up to the age of 35 who entered the country before they were 15 to become citizens if they attend college or join the military.
The immigrants must have been in the country for five consecutive years and either graduated from high school, obtained a GED, or won admittance to a college or university.
They also must be of good standing.
While we’d rather see the legislation stand on its own, the DREAM Act would be good for America.
