Ideas for Change: Pass the DREAM Act

Published January 08, 2009 @ 08:00AM PT

Final-round voting is underway on Ideas for Change. The top ten ideas across the site will be presented to the Obama administration on January 16th at an event at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, co-hosted by the Case Foundation. Change.org will also then announce the launch of a national advocacy campaign behind each winning idea in collaboration with our nonprofit partners to turn each idea into actual policy.

There are three ideas in the Immigration category:

Pass the DREAM Act - Support Higher Education for All Students

Equal Immigration Rights for Same Sex Binational Couples

Provide relief for families of immigrants

All three are worth voting for, and since each voter has ten votes to cast, I see no reason not to vote for all three.

The leading Immigration idea has picked up some steam in the pro-migrant blogosphere and has just broken into the top 15. Read the idea and if you agree with it, vote to put it into the top 10.

Linking sites:

Migra Matters crossposted at DailyKos

Latino Politico

I Am a Shadow

Underground Undergrads

Problem Chylde

Vivir Latino

Latina Lista

ImmigrationProf Blog

Dream Activist

Mexico Trucker

The Pink Flamingo

The idea:

Pass the DREAM Act - Support Higher Education for All Students

The problem: Many American students graduate from college and high school each year, and face a roadblock to their dreams: they can't drive, can't work legally, can't further their education, and can't pay taxes to contribute to the economy just because they were brought to this country illegally by their parents or lost legal status along the way. It is a classic case of lost potential and broken dreams, and the permanent underclass of youth it creates is detrimental to our economy. Former Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch has said: "In short, although these children have built their lives here, they have no possibility of achieving and living the American dream. What a tremendous loss for them, and what a tremendous loss to our society."

The solution: The federal DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act), is a bipartisan legislation that would permit these students conditional legal status and eventual citizenship granted that they meet ALL the following requirements:
--if they were brought to the United States before they turned 16, are below the age of 30,
--have lived here continuously for five years,
--graduated from a U.S. high school or obtained a GED
--have good moral character with no criminal record and
--attend college or enlist in the military.

Why should you care? There is no other pathway to citizenship for these students. Besides the injustice of punishing children for the alleged transgressions of their parents, throwing away the talent we have invested in from K-12 and accruing losses in human and financial capital by deporting talented students is bad public policy. The Social Security Administration has recently stated that we need a net increase of 100,000 immigrants each year to ensure Social Security solvency. Passing the DREAM Act would actually help solve the Social Security crisis by creating a larger taxable base of educated Americans that are already in the United States. It would also free some of the backlog that currently plagues the legal immigration system. Also, the DREAM Act in its latest form, does not grant in-state tuition to any student.

Endorsements: Since 2001, almost a 1000 organizations have officially endorsed the bill. Barack Obama has stated that DREAM Act beneficiaries are "American children for all intents and purposes" and has called this a top priority.

Tell President-Elect Obama to pass the DREAM Act in 2009. See DreamActivist.org to get more involved.

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Comments (7)

This is one I can vote for.

Posted by Charlie Reed on 01/08/2009 @ 11:51AM PT
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I recently did a presentation in my Chicano class about the Dream Act...I support it 100%

Posted by Evelyn Aguilar on 01/13/2009 @ 09:58PM PT
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I also support this act 100% for several reasons. It just doesn't make any sense for some of these students to pursue an education here and then be told that they can't do anything with their degree.

Posted by Cindy Ruiz on 01/15/2009 @ 12:27AM PT
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i have some concerns about the dream act,im qualified in all category/requirements except about the "have lived here in the us for five years continously" and i got here in the us in august of '04 so wat if the dream act passes ryt now

would i still be able to qualify for it?

do i need to wait until my exact five year stay here has come?

and is there a deadline or a limited period of time in which the dream act is active on?

please take time to respond.. thank you.

Posted by paulo santiago on 01/22/2009 @ 04:13PM PT
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When my husband Daniel & I were married, we learned firsthand how difficult and expensive the process of becoming a legal permanent resident can be, and we had the benefit of being at the front of the line because I'm an American.

Contrary to the images in the media, many "illegal" immigrants are hardworking, taxpaying residents who have set up roots and contribute to their communities here in the US.

Unfortunately, the system isn't designed efficiently. As a result, many children who have grown up as Americans, attending elementary and high school in the US are turned away at the college level due to their "illegal" status--based on the decisions their parents made years before and the unnecessary obstacles in the immigration process.

I support the Dream Act because I believe our future is brighter and our country is stronger when we educate our children..."illegal" or not.

Posted by Tricia Chaves on 03/26/2009 @ 07:12PM PT
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Amnesty and a legal means to immigrate into USA can only lift our economy. We need more shoppers! More taxpayers! More workers!! More students!! More young people!

Posted by leslie goulet on 06/23/2009 @ 12:39PM PT
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Anyone out there agree that more people = more money?

I see schools closing for lack of enrollment in rural areas.

I see small towns dying. Jobs going unfilled.

Houses standing vacant.

WalMarts closing down. We need more consumers.

More geniuses. More fun.

Posted by leslie goulet on 06/23/2009 @ 01:07PM PT
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Author

David is an attorney in Philadelphia, PA, where he helps immigrants to the U.S. navigate the complex immigration legal system. Views he expresses at change.org are his alone and don't represent the views or opinions of his employer, Nationalities Service Center. The information contained on this site is intended for educational and advocacy purposes only.