When the Senate begins looking at the annual defense policy bill on Tuesday, they will also be voting on another, unrelated measure addressing the hotly debated issue of immigration reform. The DREAM Act, which has garnered lots of support from Democratic leaders, would help illegal immigrants who come to the U.S. as children gain citizenship upon fulfilling certain requirements.
If put into effect, the DREAM Act, which stands for Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors, would allow illegal immigrants who move to the U.S. as children, pass a thorough background check and graduate from an American high school to qualify for temporary legal status. If those people go on to attend college or join the military, they will be eligible for citizenship.
The criteria that people would have to meet in order to qualify for citizenship under the DREAM Act are extensive. It is not as though green cards will be granted to criminals and miscreants, but rather hardworking kids, brought here by their parents at a young age, who are simply trying to improve their prospects for the future. The argument has been made many times that the U.S. is a nation of immigrants. It is also a nation where people improve their circumstances through their own merit, and the DREAM Act gives young people a chance to do this.
Opponents of the bill claim that it shouldn't be shuttled in to the defense policy bill by Democrats who know that it would not gain enough votes to pass on its own. Their point is fair and it is certainly regrettable that the bipartisan American political system is such that social reforms need to be disguised in other bills in order to get passed. However, if this is the only way that a beneficial measure can be passed, then politicians need to do what they must for this to happen.
The DREAM Act is not a sweeping illegal immigration reform measure by any means. It provides a fair, reasonable path for children who came to the U.S. illegally, but through no fault of their own, to gain citizenship based on their own merits. The issue of illegal immigration is a complicated one and deserves consideration from the legislature in its own bill. But in the mean time, passing the DREAM Act would help keep up the promise of the American Dream for a new generation.
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