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The DREAM Act: What would it change?

by ShanikaGunaratna | May 25, 2009 at 12:08 pm

177 views | 28 Recommendations | 2 comments

The DREAM Act would give undocumented immigrant youth the chance at conditional citizenship – meaning, legal residency and a green card – by joining the U.S. military or attending a university for two years.

This bill, introduced in Congress this session on March 26, is old news on Capitol Hill. Sponsors have introduced a version of the bill several times over the last decade, but it has repeatedly failed to garner enough support. The last time the bill “died” was Oct. 24, 2007, when it received 52 votes – with four senators absent – and fell short of the 60 Senate votes required to overcome a Republican filibuster.

The word “DREAM” stands for Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors. Introduced by Sen. Dick Durbin (IL) and Rep. Howard Berman (CA), the DREAM Act is not a comprehensive immigration policy overhaul. Rather, it is a potential policy shift that will affect a small segment of undocumented residents: students who have lived most of their lives in the US and, in most cases, did not immigrate illegally by choice.

If the bill passes, it will affect 65,000 undocumented students, a small slice of the 2.8 million high school seniors who graduate annually. The DREAM Act applies to those who:

came to the US before the age of 16
have no criminal record
have maintained continuous residence for 5 years
graduated from high school or obtained a GED, and
will attend two years of college or join the military

If it passes, undocumented students will receive a six-year temporary residency – a cushion period that will begin after they “serve” their time in the military or in college. If they fail to do so, they will be deported. During this six-year temporary residency period, beneficiaries of the act will be able to drive, work and qualify for federal work study and Pell Grants. They can partake in most activities legal residents do, except traveling abroad for more than an aggregate period of 365 days.

Since it was first introduced, the DREAM Act has changed form. For instance, the 2007 version of the bill had an age cap of 30, but the newest version has increased the age limit to 35. All undocumented residents who are under the age of 35 at the time the bill passes will qualify, as long as they meet all requirements.

The DREAM Act has galvanized a grassroots movement in support of its passage. On DreamActivist.org, an online network for undocumented students who support the bill, students can post testimonials in the hopes that their personal stories will lead to political will.

One of these stories is by an undocumented Brazilian student who was brought to the U.S. at the age of nine – a time when she was “old enough to know right from wrong, yet naïve enough to believe that I would soon return to where I was born,” she said.

“I have come to love America for what it is and for what it stands for,” the student writes. “And now my only wish is to remove this unsightly undocumented blemish from my soul so that I can pursue my studies here in the land of the free.”

The bill is supported by President Obama. Appearing on the nationally-syndicated Spanish language show El Piolin por la Manana, Obama said, “I support the Dream Act 100 percent.”

“In these times, these students are sons and daughters of the Untied States,” Obama said about undocumented youth.

But the bill also faces staunch opposition from Republicans, Democrats such as Robert Byrd of West Virginia and Kent Conrad of North Dakota, and lobbying groups. The last time the DREAM Act was up for debate, a group called Numbers USA took action, calling the bill “nightmarish amnesty” for immigrants. The organization, which strives for “lower immigration levels” nationwide, organized a grassroots fax-and-phone campaign against the bill and succeeded in stalling it, at least for the time being.

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Sanity Please (not verified)

at 14:37 on May 25th, 2009

Thank you for an excellent post about the DREAM Act. I wanted to point out a small but important omission from your description of the Act. Not only would it require 5 years of continuous residence in the U.S., but those 5 years must have been before the bill is enacted. So, young people who are brought by their parents in the future--or in the recent past--will not qualify. This responds to the argument that the DREAM Act would create an incentive for parents to bring their children to the U.S. Only those brought here as children years before the DREAM Act becomes law would be able to legalize their status.

albertacowpoke

at 15:50 on May 25th, 2009

The bill makes sense to me. You have 11 Million illegals, so why not give some of them the opportunity to demonstrate that they want to be US citizens. What better way is there to show it then by spending time in the military or going to college.

duo

at 17:44 on May 25th, 2009

Informative article. Thanks. It appears to me that children who grow up in a particular country become a part of that place, and the culture there becomes a part of them. I believe that most children who were born elsewhere and are raised in America think of themselves as being Americans. It is only fair to allow them an avenue to become citizens.

I have a friend who did not realized he had never become a citizen until he was 18 years of age. He thought it was an automatic process since he had been in the U.S. since age 3, I suppose. At age 18, he was given a trip to his native country to meet his extended family as a high school graduation present. He loved his trip. He said he was a star everywhere he went. All of his relatives were anxious to meet their "American" cousin or nephew, etc. There were cook-outs in his honor, and the girls were enthralled with him. But when he checked in at the airport to leave, he was arrested!

He said the country where he was born, Ecuador, had a mandatory 2-year military service rule, and he was arrested as a draft dodger! He kept telling the people that he was an American, but that was not so. It cost his uncle $20 and a really large bottle of Jack Daniel's to free my friend to return to America. He said when he exited that flight, he bowed to the ground and kissed the USA! He quickly got his citizenship and has never left the country again.