Clark Chronicle Clark Magnet High School La Crescenta, CA
Issue Date: Thursday, May 02, 2013 Issue: Vol. 15, Issue 8 Last Update: Thursday, May 09, 2013
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DREAM Act denies current citizens their dreams
Wednesday, February 09, 2011 By Megan O'Dean
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DREAM Act denies current citizens their dreams
(Feb. 9, 2011) -- Recently reintroduced to the Senate, the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act is still under deliberation. The bill’s main intent is to create many opportunities for illegal high school graduates, but is that really what will be accomplished? It sounds like a great and charitable motive to be granting illegal immigrants with residency because of their participation in school and/or the military, but why not apply for citizenship the normal way and not find ways around it? All of the arguments of how we should help those in need are valid, but if we have such a financial problem, can we afford to be sympathetic?

In other countries you have to prove you have something to offer to the country in order for you gain citizenship. Not that we necessarily need to do that, but making someone go through the standard process of waiting for citizenship doesn’t make us the bad guys. In the past ten years it takes for the process to apply for citizenship to be complete, we can find out who exactly we’re letting into our country. Whether they’re a criminal, a murderer, or someone with a PhD, we can’t find that out if they snuck in here illegally.

And with the DREAM Act, they could be criminals who just have to spend two years in school and end up with us granting residency without even knowing who exactly we granted it to. By not granting illegals all these benefits, it’ll hopefully stop providing more encouragement for them to come here illegally and have them opt to apply for citizenship.
Another thing you have to think about is with more people coming into the country, the more money and jobs you need for these people. And with us already in a shortage of jobs, the few that we do have could go to illegals rather than our own citizens. The same situation would go for our education and the spots for students. Part of the requirements for the DEAM Act itself is for them to enroll in school for two years, and for each illegal immigrant that enrolls in college there is a citizen who’s spot is denied — taking away the opportunity for one of our own to advance their skills and become proficient in a career.

The main disadvantage of this act, and how it invites more illegal immigrants into the country, would be increasing our financial problem. If you come into this country illegally, then you aren’t subject to any state or federal taxes because you aren’t registered. And the fewer people who pay taxes, the more the people who do have to pay.

People who come into the country illegally then are able to take advantage of more benefits than taxpaying citizens can; a few of them being free emergency room services, public education, road services and upkeep to the community. I’m not saying we should eliminate the idea, but we need to learn to prioritize and now doesn’t seem like the opportune time to be putting this act into action.

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14 COMMENTS - Add your comment below

2/10/2011 5:43:40 PM by Taline    
I think a lot of people in this comment thread are missing the point of Megan's article. I'm not buying this whole "poor illegal immigrant children who didn't know they were here illegally and deserve a fair chance happy happy joy joy rainbows and sunshine" argument. This is reality, people. I understand that there are a few families who had no choice but to sneak in to the US, but a majority of illegal immigrants will do anything to get around the system and not pay taxes. If anything, the Dream Act is going to encourage more illegal immigration into the country.
2/10/2011 1:52:48 PM by michael    
@ Megan O'Dean: you can tell she didn't read the bill; know your facts before to try and make them public. Right now you come off as a bigot, distorting facts and leaving some out
2/10/2011 11:24:23 AM by Get Your Facts Straight    
To both Joe, and DreamActUnethical..... Well to Joe first cause yours will be quick and easy "by illegals for illegals" Really?? Really? Don't look now but this would mean we have illegal aliens as Senators and Representatives. Not sure the Constitution allows this. LOL...... Joe LOL..... Way to be a scholar on the legislative process in this country. To DreamAct Unethical, if you would have done you due diligence you would know that as many as 500,000 of these DREAMERs already have a college degree and as many as 100,000 already hold advanced degrees. Now I am no mathematician, but 2+2 doesn't = 5, so your whole freshman story is just more Blah, Blah, Blah...... "Now if we include the best and the brightest non-citizens worldwide, then one might just suppose American citizens may never work again!" You know what as an American, I would say they we have become a lazy, sloppy, entitled, ethnocentric ethnicity and this might not be such a bad idea. You know what they say if you cannot take the heat stay out of the kitchen. This is what happens, when you send highly educated folks back their countries because of a paper mishap. Read the problem here. http://www.nationalmathandscience.org/index.php/staying-competitive/
2/10/2011 10:40:19 AM by Trish    
Eddie Martinez: I have read the most recent DREAM Act. I do no see two years of college, in any subject, with no degree and no needed skill obtained to be a good reason to offer a pathway to citizenship. If the Act were rewritten to require a BA or BS degree in a field of study that is vital to the country's well being I could get behind it. But in it's current form no way. Spending two years with no degree and having six years to do it devalues American citizenship.
2/10/2011 4:55:32 AM by DreamActUnethical    
The Dream Act is unethical. There are currently 2 million undocumented youths who would have potentially benefited from the Dream Act (quite possibly even more). There are only 2 million freshman seats at all U.S. colleges. That means there are enough potential Dream Act beneficiaries to take every freshman seat, meaning untold numbers of American citizens would have had to step aside. You might argue that we also have community college spots and online university sites. But then again, there are many millions of foreigners worldwide who might be enticed come to the U.S. before they turned 16 years old (or 30 years old depending on how we interpret the Dream Act). So the Dream Act could lead to nearly all college spots in the U.S. being taken by foreigners, if not immediately, then in 10 – 15 years. I think this projection makes the Dream Act untenable. American citizens have a right of access to their own universities and colleges and any Act that would take that right away, or severely reduce that right, is morally and ethically wrong. And then there is the issue of jobs. Well, the current administration claims they are doing everything possible to generate jobs, but the best recent months only recorded 150,000 new jobs (some months noted net job losses). If the Dream Act had passed we would have Dream Act recipients taking the equivalent of the entirety of the next 2 years of job creation (net growth). Now if we include the best and the brightest non-citizens worldwide, then one might just suppose American citizens may never work again! Again, these projections make the Dream Act an untenable proposition.
2/10/2011 3:56:31 AM by Joe    
The dream act is written by illegals for illegals and does absolutely nothing to fix the problem of illegal immigration. Most supporters of the dream act are also supporters of open borders and would willingly give away all of our taxpayer money to support thier friends and family. If any of you truely want to help these students then you would support programs that aim to reduce illegal immigration but you don't. You are the problem. I would support some portions of the dream act if we first solve the root cause of the problem but since the pro illegal crowd fight against these programs, all they do is prevent any progress on the issue. All you talk about is these poor kids but you are more than willing to create another generation of kids facing the same thing, why don't you show some compassion?
2/10/2011 2:49:43 AM by Stan    
Megan, just on the free emergency room services, public education, road services and upkeep to the community part only. Would you want all of them illegals to keep having these free services or at least give some of them the chance to work and pay for those services? They ain't going to go away tomorrow, right? I don't know how to solve the problem. Its impossible to deport all of them. Politicians can't seems to know what to do or willing to deal with the issue. So, if we can't solve the illegal problem tomorrow then to me it makes economic sense to at least let those who can pay, after a very selective process of course, work and pay tax and pay for the services that you mentioned. Yes, it will attract more illegals immigrants but that's another discussion.
2/10/2011 2:03:45 AM by Alexandra    
Your arguement is not valid. Do you even know what the Dream Act is? It's for children who came here illegally when they were younger (and for some reason) could not get citizenship. So for this reason if they complete high school, have GOOD moral character, and aspire to further their education/miliatry training they can move one. I don't understand how Americans can be so closed minded. DO YOU EVEN KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO GET CITIZENSHIP? It's not that easy, but people think its a simple process. Learn your facts.
2/10/2011 1:50:15 AM by Eddie Martinez    
Megan, I know you mean good but please its these kind of posts that put the dream act a bit farther from passing. I would recommend reading the DREAM ACT and put in the parts that you left out and you will see how this legislation would help America and not encourage more illegal immigration. I know there are some things that need to be change on this act such as only having a certain portal time to apply so no more immigrants can use this as a backdoor and is only availiable to the students who need it now to accomplish the American Dream. Overall this idea is incredible and uplifting showing the love and sympathy that some Americans seem to have lost over immigrants.
2/10/2011 12:42:45 AM by R. King    
Illegal immigration is the principle behind the bankrupting of our nation; with illegal immigrants and pervert activists counting on half truths and building block legislation to realize their dream of an America without a constitution around to protect their victims. The Dream Act does more than lend a hand to people brought here due to no fault of their own at the expense of those of us born here due to no fault of our own; it also opens the back door for the family members of these undocumented "victims." The victim and bigot cards have been played to nausea; to the extent that their worth is less than that of the joker!
2/9/2011 10:46:43 PM by Mis243    
Megan, You are absolutely correct about the urgency to close our borders so that new waves of illegal immigrants can't enter. However, I'm sorry your argument against the Dream Act is flawed. First of all, it would not be automatic citizenship. In fact the student would receive a conditional status so that he/she would be able to work here and attend school. There would be no shot at citizenship for at least 10 years. Don't let articles on google mislead you. Also, I'm pretty sure our country knows how to do background checks in order to weed out criminals. This is a requirement in this bill. Continuing with the myths in this article, MANY of these undocumented immigrants do pay taxes using ITIN. I invite you to look it up. I hate to break it to you that this is the correct time to implement not only the Dream Act but Comprehensive Immigration Reform because this issue is a vital aspect of our economy. If you think they are stealing your jobs, I ask you to deport ALL of them and then I will bet you don't have any food on your plate or fresh vegetables and fruits in your supermarket. Let's see if you can find enough people to fill those jobs in 100 degree weather that you claim are yours. It is very easy to sit behind a computer and write such flawed articles. My advise to you would be to be open towards the issue instead of being narrow minded. Especially regarding the Dream Act, look at it as a human issue. Many of these dreamers were brought here at ages 12, 10, 5, and even lower than that and study at the finest institutions of our country including Harvard, Stanford, UCLA etc. I really don't think they are criminals. Do you really want them to take their knowledge to other countries and introduce the next new technology there? Or would you rather have them contribute to your countries economy? If you don't have native Indian blood in you, you're a descendant of illegal immigrants too.
2/9/2011 10:36:05 PM by Sam N.    
Megan makes some valid arguments. To accuse her of bigotry is not a fair summary of her argument. She points out that other nations have stricter immigration requirements than the US, which is true. In the US, we do not enforce even those laws we have on the books, for instance laws that punish employers who hire illegals. Every other industrialized nation enforces their immigration laws better than we do in the US. Megan makes the valid point that the Dream Act rewards illegal activity, thereby inviting more illegal activity and disrespect for our laws.
2/9/2011 8:18:42 PM by Dave    
Hi Megan, I'm not fully sure you actually read what the dream act proposes. In any case, however, try and put yourself in the shoes of the majority of the people who this act refers to. Imagine your earliest memory was here, in America, not any other part of the entire world. You've met all the people, are educated culturally in every way possible as an American, you know to be nothing but an American while in fact your full patriotism lies in America itself, but all of a sudden when it's nearing the time to get a driver's license in all your excitement, you've only just found out as the news is broken to you that you've never truly been an American. This is the position that the majority of these people are in, hence the act has come about on its own. It is about helping those who never made the choice to break the law as most of them didn't even know what a border was. To deport someone that is in heart and in mind a full American but not on passport, is truly un-American.
2/9/2011 6:48:29 PM by Get Your Facts Straight    
Here we have another failed attempt at bigotry. You obviously do not understand what the underlying fundamental argument for the DREAM ACT is. This is not about illegal immigrants, that snatch your babies in the middle of the night, or murder you while you sleep or sell drugs to preschoolers on the corner. This is about children that never got to make the decision to come illegally or stay legally in their own countries. It was forced upon them as parents, just as your parents forced you to wear a pooh backpack attached to a leash. The kids leashed like dogs, can't run off and neither can the CHILDREN of illegal immigrants. Think about it people, most these guys are already educated through the teeth on your taxpayer dollars, why send them back disgruntled and hungry and thoroughly prepared to compete against us.
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