Should Pelosi Support Lame Duck Dream Act?
Poster at Dream Camp protest outside of Senator John McCain's office, Phoenix, Az
Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi says she will support the Dream Act during the Lame Duck session. This may be the last chance for minimal immigration reform for a long time to come.
The Dream Act allows children of undocumented immigrants access to higher education. Currently, most colleges refuse to admit children of undocumented workers, hence they limit the diversity of their student populations.
When children of undocumented workers find a school that will admit them the school charges out-of-state tuition even though the student has been a resident of the state since he or she was a tot. Since these youth come from the poorest of the poor, the higher tuition serves as an additional bar to their fundamental right to improve their lot in life.
Those who navigate college entrance and financial bars and attend school encounter additional problems after graduation. The degree is of little use since employers insist on social security numbers for hiring, and the government insists on legal status for many occupations including nurses, teachers, policemen, the military and other public servants.
Dream Activist Erika Andiola discusses abuses against students of undocumented immigrants outside of the office of Senator John McCain. Erika, along with Michael Nazario and others want the chance for students of undocumented immigrants to be able to serve in the military or get a college education.
The Dream Act is supported by Colin Powell, and past Secretary of Defense, Louis Caldera. It is also supported in the Strategic Plan for the Department of Defense’s Office of the Undersecretary for Personnel and Readiness. One of the first fatalities in Iraqi was Lance Cpl. Jose Gutierrez, an immigrant from Guatemala. The military was surprised to find he was undocumented.
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