DREAM Act: Undocumented Immigrants In The United States

Growing up with parents who are immigrants can present many obstacles for the children of those immigrants. There are many problems people face that we do not even realize. Things happen behind closed doors that we might not even be aware of. Writers Sandra Cisneros and Amy Tan help us become aware of these problems. Both of these authors express those hardships in their stories about growing up with foreign parents. Although their most apparent hardships are about different struggles, both of their stories have a similar underlying theme.

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;

Eleanor Roosevelt said, “the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” That statement holds strong for immigrants in America. Equal access to opportunities allows immigrants to achieve the American dream. Their success correlates with America’s success because of the contributions immigrants provide to America. Unfortunately, the current immigration policy in America denies many immigrants the American dream. It is crucial to understand the historical context of immigration in America. Initially, most immigrants were from Europe and were not restricted by any immigration laws. Now, most immigrants come from Latin America but are restricted to severe immigration laws. The Latino/a community is one of the most

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)

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 Democratic Party has fiercely advocated for the enactment of the DREAM Act. Republicans however have strongly opposed it and have left little hope for any reform for illegal immigrants. However not passing the DREAM Act and stalling on reform for illegal immigrants is doing an injustice to these immigrants and most importantly to American citizens. Today many US citizens suffer from a depleting economy and anything that can help revive it should and must be done. I see the DREAM Act as a great opportunity to aid and provide relief to the economy.

The DREAM Act plays a big role in the nation’s effort to have the highest proportion of graduates in the world by 2020 (Miranda). Allowing this to pass would reduce the drop out rate significantly all throughout the country. 65,000 undocumented students graduate from high school every year. In Luis Miranda’s Get The Facts On The Dream Act, Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan has stated that passing the Dream Act will allow “these young people to live up to their fullest potential and contribute to the economic growth of our country.” It gives students the incentive to go through school and get a degree. When undocumented students are attending school, some colleges wont accept them. Knowing that, they do not have the drive or interest in pursuing a college degree. A lot of immigrants now will finish high school, get there diploma, then go find a job. Having this bill passed will change the education in the United States forever.

The first state to adopt a law allowing undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition rates at public universities was Texas. This law is so-called “The Dream Act.” To qualify for this act an immigrant student must have graduated high school or received a GED in Texas, must live in the state for three years, and sign an affidavit confirming that they are seeking legal residency. According to the Education Commission of the States, since 2001, Washington, Utah, Oklahoma, New York, New Mexico, Kansas, Illinois, and California have adopted similar laws. Some conservative Texas legislators have filed to repeal The Dream Act. Their opinion is that it is unfair to legal U.S. citizens from other states that are required to pay out-of-state tuition. This act also requires taxpayers to pay higher education costs for undocumented immigrants. Others argue that many come to America through no choice because their parents illegally came to the country. They believe it is unfair to punish the students for their parents’ decisions. Bills that have tried to take away the Texas Dream Act have failed thus far. ("Tribpedia: Dream Act | The Texas Tribune." The Texas Tribune. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 July 2015.)1

According to Golden Door Scholar, there are 1.4 million undocumented students in the United States and out of the 1.4 million students, only 7,000 will attend college. Defined by Educators for fair consideration, undocumented students are “foreign national individuals who entered the United States without inspection or with fraudulent documents.” There are programs to make it easier for undocumented students to attain an education like the DREAM Act. Although the DREAM Act is in effect, this is still not enough for undocumented students to attend good colleges and get the same rights as a citizen of the United States. Undocumented students should live their life

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.

Since early in the 17th century, immigrants from different places on over the world have come to America to seek for freedom and opportunities. They have contributed in a large portion of the United States’ economy as well as culture. As a result, the impacts on American communities have turned into arguable issues, and one of them comes from educational field, the DREAM Act. In a simple way, DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors) is a program that offers permanent legal status to illegal immigrants up to age 35 who arrived in the United States before age 16, resided in the U.S. for at least five years, graduated from high school and completed two years of college or honorable military service. Standing on both sides to consider the its influences, the questions of either The DREAM Act has a positive or negative effect on America’s college and whether or not it should be passed are still vague between controversial opinions.

Out of the immigrants that could be able to qualify under the DREAM Act, 68% already have a high school diploma or a GED. 11% have a Master’s degree, professional degree, or a Doctorate. Arne Duncan Secretary of Education from 2009 through 2015 stated that passing the DREAM Act “Will be playing an important part in the nation’s effects to have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020.” Legalizing our country’s undocumented immigrant population and reforming our legal immigrant system would add more than $1.5 trillion expanding the U.S Gross domestic product over a decade. The program would also add $329 billion to the U.S economy by 2030. (Fitz) In the article, Legalization of Unauthorized Immigrants Would Benefit the U.S Economy from Opposing Viewpoints; Research by UCLA Professor Raul Hinojosa- Ojeda “found that the tax benefits alone from legalization would be between $4.5 billion and $5.4 billion in the first three years.” The Congressional Budget Office concluded that deporting nearly 700,000 eligible participants would cost taxpayers $16.2 billion over five

I would like to commend you for your courage on bringing up this subject because it is so controversial. This being that everyone has a different opinion about this topic, especially those that this affects. The article you wrote addresses and defines what is happening in the lives of young immigrant men and women, and the struggles that they have to face just to go to school. Each young immigrant child, whether they know they are immigrants or not, has the chance to get a elementary, middle, and high school education. Yet that is where it stops, because they are immigrants they are forced to pay the out of state tuition for college, and for some families the tuition is too expensive. Then to make the

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

There is are both sides to this issue with lots of counter arguments but there are a few critical points that must be presented against the dream act. A Common argument that is broadly talked upon is the idea that benefiting and providing illegal immigrants with protection and benefits encourages more illegal immigrants to cross the southern border in pursue of