Essay on The DREAM Act Debate

What would it be like to be branded as “illegal” and be denied the chance of a bright future? Millions of children are brought to the United States illegally without much choice. Although some grow up to become active members of society, the future of immigrant youth is handicapped by immigration laws, which make them face the hardships of not being able to go to college, drive or get jobs, and live with the constant fear of deportation. The Dream Act is a bill that would complete the dreams for countless young undocumented students and individuals by the means of legal documentation. The U.S Congress should enact the DREAM Act because it amplifies the pool for army applicants and college graduates

The Dream Act, the Development, Relief and Education of Alien Minors Act is a bipartisan legislation pioneered by Sen. Orin Hatch [R-UT] and Sen. Richard Durbin [D-IL].The undocumented students will granted a conditional legal status. Within the 6 years the student must be able to obtain a degree from a four year university. After the 6 years passes the conditional status becomes a legal American citizen. The following is the detailed qualification process obtained from the official web site of the dream act:

About half a million children are born to undocumented immigrants every year. These children are not given the opportunities that they so rightly deserve. They spend their entire lives in the United States and are considered illegal immigrants. They are given no choice, but to live their life as an undocumented immigrant. That is what the DREAM Act is trying to solve. The DREAM Act, or Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors is a proposal that would provide permanent residency to undocumented immigrants who meet certain eligibility requirements (The DREAM Act). If the DREAM Act is approved, then the education will be improved. It will improve the economy, the military will receive a significant increase in recruitments, and

First of all, the Dream Act can help the economy. According to a study, it said that if undocumented students and young adults were given legal status under Dream Act in America, the increase of these people access to college or legal jobs would add $329 billion and 1.4 million jobs to the country’s economy. It allow legalized immigrants to invest in the America economy. That can let legalized immigrants to earn higher wages, encourage them to start business, open back account and buy houses in America by stripping out the uncertainty of undocumented status. It can also increase tax revenue significantly and save taxpayers money. The Dream Act also achieve the undocumented student’s dream and keep their talent. It can also let them move to

Imagine a world with an educated youth. Now imagine a parallel world where children are fighting to keep a smile on their faces, because, in truth, it is the only thing they have. In reality, this is what is happening. Youth, who have the privilege to be American citizens, are granted a very fulfilling education with a promise of a career. Children of illegal and undocumented immigrants do not have such luck. Some undocumented children in America have very promising futures and even a degree under their belts, but they cannot apply for a job because they have no proof of citizenship. A controversial topic is the matter of the DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education, for Alien Minors) which permits undocumented immigrants to obtain

In the United States, many families are currently being affected by the Dream Act’s failure to pass. The Dream Act would have given many undocumented children the ability to have a pathway to citizenship. The Dream Act believed in the importance of social support within the family by supporting family unification. However, due to its failure to pass, millions of undocumented children are now at risk of being deported and having their families divided. Although the U.S. government created a new policy known as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), it is not providing immigrants with the same opportunity. DACA instead give undocumented people the opportunity to not be deported for a maximum of three years, but will never become a pathway to permanent citizenship. The Dream Act and DACA ultimately affects the physiological, emotional, and mental health of the immigrants who reside within the U.S.

Many proponents of the DREAM Act argue that “these kids were brought to the United States before they had a say in their life circumstances. Denying them hope and opportunity is punishment for an act beyond their control” (Fitz). Supporters of the DREAM Act continually advertise this argument; They claim that the children are innocent, and the United States is treating these children unjustly, but not rewarding them with “legal residence and expensive college tuition subsidies is simply withholding benefits to which they never had any entitlement in the first place” (Mehlman). These children are innocent, and deserve to be given an opportunity to come to the United States and have a good education, but it should not be through the DREAM Act or illegal immigration. It is not un-American to prioritize United States citizens, and other immigrants waiting to enter the country legally. A gross misconception is that DACA is only opposed by a radical few who want to hurt innocent children and families, but “a recent Quinnipiac University poll shows that Americans across the political spectrum favor tougher enforcement of existing immigration laws over rolling out the amnesty welcome wagon.” (Malkin). Despite this poll, many patrons of the DREAM Act think that continued amnesty is a right the United States is taking away, when in truth, the general public supports tougher immigration law. The DREAM literally goes against popular opinion, as it sponsors amnesty, and not harsher immigration

“The Dream Act’s history is tortured. In 2001, a concerned guidance counselor for a frightened young woman whose family immigrated from South Korea reached out to Mr. Durbin for help. The young woman, Tereza Lee, was a pianist who was hoping to apply to top-ranked music schools, but the law said she would have to leave the United States for 10 years and apply for re-entry. To help Ms. Lee, Mr. Durbin introduced the Dream Act” (Alcindor). Most people are afraid of failure. They do everything they can to ensure their success. This might include taking extra classes or even as far as moving to a completely different country. Imagine that a hardworking person puts all that they have into what they do and then later fail. Unfortunately, that happened to Tereza Lee. To ensure her success as a pianist, she wanted to attend music school and they turned her away. People could freely follow their dreams regarding their background under certain conditions. The United States government needs to pass The Dream Act because opportunities continue to disappear, a good marriage between border security and the Dream Act needs to happen, and 800,000 kids’ futures remain in the balance.

The dreams act is an American legislative proposal first introduced in the Senate on August 1, 2001, by Dick Durbin and Orrin Hatch. This bill would provide conditional permanent residency to certain undocumented residents of good moral character who graduate from U.S. high schools, arrived in the United States as minors, and lived in the country continuously for at least five years prior to the bill's enactment.

Taking U.S citizens rights away or is it just an opportunity to illegal aliens? This is one of the many arguments people have been stating about the dream act. This program was passed to help illegal immigrants grow in education. It was not to acquire U.S citizen’s rights, in fact it was passed because many immigrants want to give back to the country that has offered them many things. This program also known as DACA was proposed by the president Barack Obama and has been applied to many illegal immigrants since 2010. It is an aid for immigrant students that want to go top college and stay in school. Being part of the Dream Act is not giving illegal aliens U.S citizen’s rights, it is allowing young immigrants to have the opportunity to get

On 2001 The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act (S.1291) was introduced, which would provided legal status and educational opportunities to students who entered the United States before the age of sixteen (The DREAM Act, 2011). The DREAM Act was created to help undocumented individuals to achieve the so called American dream for many this is the opportunity that has been waiting for years. According to the article Get the Facts On The DREAM Act by Luis Miranda states three objectives are:

The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act (DREAM Act), is a proposed bipartisan legislation that is meant to provide amnesty and relief

The debate over illegal immigration has been a constant and ongoing struggle in the United States. Millions of illegal immigrants are living among us in the country, we have more entering daily. Recently, President Barack Obama touched on the topic with his immigration executive order. Unfortunately, with the republican takeover of the white house, many of his actions are not being supported. This is viable evidence that there are people who want to help fix the immigration system in a way that will benefit illegal immigrants and give them a fighting chance to prosper here in the United States. With that being said, there are also powers who do not want to see that happen because they believe that it is not in the best interest of the United States to open their borders to illegals. This puts to question what the next steps for the United States will decide and how that will affect Americans across the country. My goal of this essay is to enlighten the moral concerns in the debates pertaining to immigration.

America the land of the free has been an open place for anyone to come and make a better life for themselves and their families. Our freedom has created more opportunities and open fields for anyone of any race, ethnicity, or sex to be able to flourish. Freedom to do almost as one pleases had been more of a crowd drawer than anything else throughout all of history. Freedom of religion, speech, and many legal freedoms of rights even today is a massive promoter of immigration and movement to the U.S. This immigration and movement across the boarder is exactly what The Dream Is Now is targeting. The documentary gives voice to and puts a human face on the undocumented children of immigrants who are desperate to earn their citizenship and give back to the only country they've ever called "home." The film also goes beyond the personal experiences of the individuals but places their stories in the larger pictures and explores the consequences of continuing our current policies and maintaining the status quo. Consequences not just for these young people today, but for our country's future because our future is not what we do today but what our children and the young group of people around us do.

The undocumented students that will benefit from the Dream Act are students that are practically U.S citizens but not by birth. Some opponents to the Dream Act don’t realize how much these students have suffered throughout their life. The article, “Standing up for Immigrant Students,” mentions all of these hardships and struggles; children are exposed to many dangers when crossing the border, and once they settle in the U.S they face other hardships and struggles like learning a new language, meeting the expectations of their instructors, and being discriminated against (4-5). Despite the obstacles they encounter in their path, many manage the way to do well in school and many overpass American students and become leaders in their community. Being undocumented becomes a major issue for undocumented high school graduates who want to continue their education because it’s nearly impossible to attend a University and get federal help because a valid social security number is required. These young adults are some of the best and brightest students in this country;