Acting On A Dream By Jonathan Cervantes

Undocumented students are becoming a growing outrage in the United States. It has been a constant battle amongst the students, the schools, and the Government. According to collegeboard.com, statistics shows that 65,000 undocumented students graduate from U.S. high schools each year (collegeboard.com).After graduating high school they face legal and financial barriers to higher education. This paper will address the importance of this growing outrage and discuss the following that corresponds to it.

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

Another myth that many critics of the DREAM Act believe is immigrants who have broken the immigration law will encourage more illegal immigrants to move to the U.S., with the knowledge that their kids will have a passageway to legal residency. Essentially, in the adversaries’ eyes, it suggests an incentive to break the law. Additionally, those that oppose the bill feel that the young immigrants applying for college and receiving financial aid creates a level playing field for U.S. citizens and undocumented immigrants—which is just unfair. Basically, undocumented immigrants will have an equal shot at precious state and federal resources as legal residents if the DREAM Act is passed and this is particularly offensive considering the economic

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.

To dream or not to dream? The Dream Act is meant to keep upstanding citizens who are in the country illegally to gain access to citizenship with a form of penance. They can elect to go to higher education schools or join our militaries for at least two years. Will we one day be rudely awakened by this dream that has turned into a nightmare? There are two sides to every position and both have valid points that should be understood, studied and processed. Many illegal’s come to our wonderful country to find opportunity, a better life and themselves; in this wonderful country we call The United States of America. This is what

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

According to the Pew Research Center, there are currently one million undocumented immigrant children living in the US, a third of them living in poverty. Most of these children had no choice in coming to the states. For most of these children, a college education is the way out of poverty, however many state colleges and universities require undocumented immigrants pay out of state tuition to enroll, which is money that most of these undocumented families do not have. The United States must pass the DREAM Act, which would allow undocumented immigrant children to pay in-state tuition to colleges and universities. Passing the DREAM Act would benefit the economy, it would give equal footing to minors who are looking for a better life, and it

Every year thousands of undocumented students graduate from high school with uncertainty about a post-secondary education. Many of these students do not have the financial means, and are often too scared about their legal status to continue their education. This issue is extremely prevalent in the state of California, hosting 2.6 million “alien residents”, it has the largest population of undocumented immigrants (Gonzales, 2006). Immigration policies have been controversial topics in the United States for a long time. Although there is still an ongoing debate about reforming the current immigration laws, there has been progress in making post-secondary education a possibility for undocumented students. This paper will focus

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.

Lawmakers need to consider that the DREAM Act will create strains and negatively affect the educational opportunities available to American citizens by adding roughly one million students to state universities and community colleges (Camarota). Supporters of the DREAM Act argue that it will significantly increase tax revenue because the amnesty recipients with a college education will earn more, causing them to pay more in taxes. However, Camarota shares that any tax benefit is in the long-term and will not help public institutions deal with the large influx of new students the Act creates in the short-term. Due to the limited spaces at institutions, United States citizens will be crowded out and that will reduce their lifetime earnings and tax payments. In addition, since the DREAM Act only requires two years of college, the undocumented immigrants will not necessarily earn a degree, not helping to increase their tax payments. Moreover, with the college dropouts so high, many illegal immigrants will not complete the required two years, so taxpayers will pay for their enrollment and financial aid without long-term benefits (Camarota).

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.

Annually, there are close to 65,000 undocumented immigrants who graduate high school or earn a GED in order to then apply for college, only to be declined due to their lack of citizenship. Not only are they constantly turned away, if they are accepted, they are granted no financial aid and are forced to pay out-of-state tuition despite how long they may or may not have lived in that state (Bennion). Regardless of their residential status, Dreamers are capable of being honor students, athletes, valedictorians, all of the above, and everything a permanent citizen is able to assume the role of. They are just as intelligent, and if we provide to them the same resource as those who are legal are given, they could truly become a role model to many alike. On top of everything, it is already challenging for a Dreamer to get a job thanks to their status as a citizen, without a higher education they may have an insufficient chance of working a career or in a position of select field. Under the DREAM Act, these children could work a job with a salary enough to take care of them and their families if need be. Furthermore, if these people are allowed access to an increased amount of jobs, it would lead to economic growth in our

Those eligible for the DREAM Act can provide so much to the economy if they were granted the opportunity to do so. It isn’t like they are going anywhere and, they have adopted so many American values into their lives. By giving them the amnesty they need and arguable deserve, our economy can only benefit. The government can generate more tax revenue from them, thus ending the outcry that they don’t pay tax. Also by giving them the same rights as citizens in the job market, they will be paid what they deserve thus possibly stimulating consumer spending by them.

There are many requirements in order to be eligible to receive the DREAM Act, not just any illegal immigrant can apply. According to NAFSA, you must have been brought to the United States before being sixteen years old, stay for at least five years, show good moral character and receive a GED. Also, they can't be older than 35 when they apply (Heathers). This was originally proposed in 2001 by Senators Dick Durbin, Democrat of Illinois and Republican Orin Hatch from Utah. In the hope to make it possible for undocumented teenagers to achieve a legal US residency while at the same time being allowed to attend college to better their lives or join the military, and it also gives them the chance to apply

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;