Two years ago I wrote and helped pass a resolution for the North Carolina Democratic Party that supported repealing section 505 of the IIRIRA Act of 1996 and urged the passage of the DREAM Act. Short for the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, the DREAM bill would give young undocumented immigrants legal status if they have graduated from high school and lived in the U.S. for five consecutive years. Students in good standing could obtain a temporary permit if they complete at least two years in college or the military. After six years, those who meet the conditions could obtain legal permanent resident status. Another provision of the DREAM Act at that time gave undocumented immigrants in-state tuition status.
I fully supported the DREAM Act then. Now, I am conflicted and I’m no longer sure that it will be such a great opportunity for undocumented immigrant youth if it passes. It may be better for them to live in the shadows a few years longer – at least they would be alive when real immigration reform is possible again.
After the defeat of the comprehensive immigration bill earlier this year, supporters believed that since the DREAM Act was less controversial than other immigration proposals there might be a chance that it can be successfully added to other legislation moving through Congress this fall.
Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., wants to offer the act as an amendment to the 2008 defense authorization bill which could come up as early as next week.
As expected, anti-immigration groups are mobilizing along the same fault lines that helped defeat comprehensive immigration legislation. To them, the DREAM Act is just another form of "amnesty" that rewards immigrant law breakers instead of punishing them for their "crimes."
As part of the effort to get the DREAM Act amendment passed, the military component has been trotted out as a key selling point, to the alarm of many in the immigrant community.
http://www.azcentral.com/...
From http://www.durbin.senate.gov/...
Some people might ask why the Senate should revisit immigration again and whether an immigration amendment should be included in the Defense authorization bill. The answer is simple: The DREAM Act would address a very serious recruitment crisis that faces our military.
Under the DREAM Act, tens of thousands of well-qualified potential recruits would become eligible for military service for the first time. They are eager to serve in the Armed Forces during a time of war. And under the DREAM Act they would have a very strong incentive to enlist because it would give them a path to permanent legal status.
(Snip)
The DREAM Act doesn't mandate military service. A student who is otherwise eligible could earn legal status by attending college. It would be inconsistent with the spirit our volunteer military to force young people to enlist as a condition for obtaining legal status.
But the DREAM Act creates a strong incentive for military service. And many DREAM Act kids come from a demographic group that is already predisposed towards military service. A 2004 survey by the Rand Corporation found that 45 percent of Hispanic males and 31 percent of Hispanic females between ages 16 and 21 were very likely to serve in the Armed Forces, compared to 24 percent of White men and 10 percent of White women.
Let's break down some of the numbers that are being used to make the argument that the DREAM Act could offset the military’s recruiting woes:
http://www.migrationpolicy.org/...
According to the Migration Policy Institute, 360,000 undocumented high school graduates (18-24) would become immediately eligible for conditional status if the DREAM Act passes. As Durbin noted, not all high school graduates will go on to college. Roughly half of those students are "very likely to serve in the Armed Forces."
While the DREAM Act has the support of mainstream Latino organizations, such as the National Council of La Raza and the League of United Latin American Citizens, there are others who view the bill as nothing more than a poverty draft of desperate undocumented immigrant youth who have to choose between fighting—and dying-- in an unjust war or living with the fear of deportation from the only country they call home.
To anti-war pro-immigrant activists, the connections with the Pentagon are becoming all too clear. Americans are growing increasingly reluctant to send US citizens into the black hole that is Iraq but may feel less inclined to object if the kids sent to the frontlines to fight are ‘illegal aliens’ who are routinely portrayed in the MSM as having less value--and are therefore more expendable--than American kids.
Let’s be honest, the DREAM Act creates a strong incentive for military service, much more so than for a successful college career for most of the youth affected by this bill. The military uses education as a carrot for American citizens to enlist; for undocumented immigrants, there is the carrot of legalization as well as the stick of deportation.
http://www.boston.com/...
The question is: who is really benefiting from this Act? Recently, Senator Durbin has agreed to drop the in-state tuition clause for the college option thereby eliminating the college option for thousands of undocumented immigrants. The DREAM Act's educational component was a wonderful dream for a while; now it is turning into a nightmare for undocumented youth: the only DREAM that is being realized is the military's dream of access to hundreds of thousands of desperate recruits that Americans really don’t care too much about—a whole generation of desperate Green Card soldiers who will do our killing and dying for us, another job Americans don't want to do any more.
He was 10 when he immigrated to the United States from the Philippines, 20 when he joined the Marines, and 33 when he died fighting in Iraq for his adopted homeland.
Any day now, Gunnery Sgt. Joseph Menusa will receive in death the citizenship status that had eluded him in life.
http://www.sfgate.com/...
I am afraid we will see many more stories such as the one above, and every one will break your heart. In the meantime, the Selective Service is making sure it has the names and addresses of all undocumented MAMs in its database.
from the Selective Services website (http://www.sss.gov/Default.htm)
ATTENTION, UNDOCUMENTED MALES & IMMIGRANT SERVICING GROUPS!
If you are a man ages 18 through 25 and living in the U.S., then you must register with Selective Service. It’s the law. You can register at any U.S. Post Office and do not need a social security number. When you do obtain a social security number, let Selective Service know. Provide a copy of your new social security number card; being sure to include your complete name, date of birth, Selective Service registration number, and current mailing address; and mail to the Selective Service System, P.O. Box 94636, Palatine, IL 60094-4636.
Be sure to register before your 26th birthday. After that, it’s too late!
Selective Service does not collect any information which would indicate whether or not you are undocumented. You want to protect yourself for future U.S. citizenship and other government benefits and programs by registering with Selective Service. Do it today.