Many immigrants come to America in an effort to achieve a better life, and with hopes of achieving the “American Dream”. Many adults are grateful for any work that pays, but for their children the hopes are to get an education and become what they could not. Even with these opportunities many children of undocumented citizens are finding that once they complete high school their efforts of attending college are all but a dream. To assist this population the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act (DREAM Act) was proposed by Republican Senator Hatch Orin of Utah in August of 2001. It was an amendment to the Illegal Immigration Reform Control and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IRCA) of 1986, and was an effort to repeal …show more content…
It was a nation built by immigrants and a place where those who came bragged to other across the world, which naturally enticed others to come see for themselves. Whether it was Italians, Germans, Polish, or even the Japanese all came to America with these hopes. However, with Mexico being the neighbor to the south no other group had the ability to migrate like citizens of Mexico. As cited by Zong and Batalova (2014), Mexican citizens have always migrated to the United States in an effort to better their lives. The first influx of migration occurred prior to World War II when “the number of migrant workers used by private labor contractors for agriculture rose from 105,200 in 1900 to roughly 624,400 in 1930 (Zong & Batalova, 2014). This large scale migration continued and it was because of the labor needs of the United State that Mexican citizens traveled back and forth across the border. However, in1965 changes to the law imposed the first numerical limits on the amount of Mexican and other Latin Americans that could enter the country legally. It would become even more difficult to enter the United States for work, and as the economic changes occurred more low skilled labor jobs immigrants from Mexico began to enter the country with hopes of settling permanently and this time it was not like the migrations of the 30s. This is because instead of
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
There is always that one student that has a strong work ethic and when things get exacerbated they keep working and just do not quit. These students are students who are eager to learn who want succeed, but when it comes to the end of their high school career, what happens? There are approximately 65,000 young adults that are undocumented and graduate each year from high school ( “The DREAM Act Immigration Access to Higher Education.”). These students want to achieve something prominent for themselves they have the grades and the qualifications so that they can attend college. The main obstacle standing in their way is citizenship or residency. This complication prohibits them from being able to apply for government
The Dream Act is very important to many undocumented students because they are not able to go to college because they weren’t born in United States. The Dream Act allows them to go on to their professional careers. Dream Act stand for development, relief, education, alien, and minors that’s the purpose why they call it the Dream Act. First time that the Dream Act was introduced was in August 1, 2001 by Dick Durbin and Orrin Hutch in the senate. Since that moment they have been reintroduced several times but have failed to pass. The requirement of the Dream Act are entered in United States before in the age of 16 year old, lived in the country for at least 5 years, graduated High School or GED in United State, person demonstrates good moral character, and pass criminal background checks and reviews.
Development, Relief & Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act. It still has yet to be passed and
The Development Relief and Education for Alien Minors, more commonly known as it’s acronym, The Dream Act, is a parliamentary proposition to allow illegal aliens and their children to have the option of continuing their education into college. There are some differentiating opinions of this proposition. According to Yeh Ling-Ling, the main reason for Congress not supporting this bill is due to the lack of funding which will only increase the nation’s debt. With this being said, the students attending college through financial aid will be able to repay the debt they once claimed. It’s designed mainly for the people who have graduated high school or obtained a GED in America, but due to the immigration laws are unable to attend College or a higher academic setting.
Although the Dream Act seems to be an easy first step for young Latino immigrants in achieving the "American Dream", but the policy itself contains many internal flaws that cannot be disregarded. The Dream Act is not enacted for several reasons. One, by granting financial aid to undocumented students would violated the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigration Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) of 1996, which mandates that, "unauthorized aliens shall not be eligible on the basis of residence within a state (or a political subdivision) for any postsecondary education benefit unless a citizen or national of the United States is eligible for such benefit...without regard to whether the citizen or national is such a resident" (Ruge et al., 2004, p. 262). Second, "good moral characters" is a vague phrase that cannot be measured as to how each person identifies "good moral characters"(Munoz, 2009, p. 8). Lastly, opponents of the dream act argued that the enactment of this policy would interfere with the benefits and interests
Every year, about 65,000 American high school graduates are undocumented youths. Even though most of them have worked hard in school and seek further education or a high paying job, as any American would, their legal status, or lack thereof, makes it nearly impossible to achieve those dreams. Also, they live in fear of deportation, never to draw attention to themselves. Since 2001, Congress has been exposed to many attempts at a final solution for this issue. But is there really a solution for undocumented young adults who came to the United States as youths and now face so many problems with their lack of legal status? The DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors) provides an opportunity for undocumented young adults to have a permanent resident status by following specific guidelines. (Adding to thesis later)
Through amnesty policies such as the DREAM act, illegal immigrants will have more access to a better education. This act will allow “students who have been living in the U.S. since they were young, a chance to contribute back to the country that has given so much to them and a chance to utilize their hard earned education and talents,” (Basic Information about the DREAM Act
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.
Also the dream act is helpful because it lends them financial aid and they get a social security to then pay the country back. While they get educated the country is getting a reward as well. Like in the case of Carla Chavarria, she works in graphic design and still goes to college during the night time and with the money she gets she is paying her college tuition (Gonzales). This is what every student in the United States faces right after high school. They get a job and go to college. But, unfortunately some immigrants stop going to school because they cannot afford the tuition and the books. They get a job in the fields and work because they do not get hired for being resident. The hope they had to achieve their dreams just fade away because they know they can not get educated like everybody else. When the dream act was passed many immigrants got faith and very happy because their dreams were going to actually become a reality. In a way this is very helpful to illegal immigrants that want to be successful and live a stable life.
The United States experienced major waves of Immigrants during the War time and the 1800’s and early 1900’s. 25,000 Asian Immigrants went to California for a gold rush and migrated there by the 1850’s. A lot of Immigration had to do with slaves and such. During the 1890’s Central, and Eastern Europe came to America, so did the Italians and Jews. The start of Immigration was different from today’s time. Back then people who migrated to the United States was easy.
Hermes, 2008 is a study that discusses two things: One being how the DREAM Act will establish a path for legal status and eventually earn legal residency through two years of higher education or military service and the second this is how repealing a provision of federal law
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;
U.S. as an immigration country, has a long history of immigration. It is a complex demographic phenomenon that has been a major source of population growth and cultural change of the United States. People came here because of varies reason, the major reason among them are fleeing crop failure, land and job shortage, rising taxes, and famine. Nearly 12 million people immigrate to the United States between 1870 and 1900, making it the world largest immigrate country.