Dream Act 2010

[Andymosity]

On Tuesday, September 21st, Congress is going to vote to pass the DREAM ACT 2010! If you don't know what the DREAM ACT is, the read the following, please.

Overview of the DREAM ACT 2010

Overview of the new DREAM Act of 2009 (From DREAMACT2009.ORG)

The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act (The "DREAM Act") is a long anticipated Immigration Bill which was just introduced in the US Congress (both Senate and House) on March 26, 2009. This bill will provide millions of immigrant children who graduate from U.S. High Schools the opportunity to receive U.S. Residency (a "Green Card") after so many years of being left in the shadows by State and Federal laws. The new legislation will provide immigration benefits to those who arrived in the United States as children, before the age of 16 and who have been residing in the U.S. continuously for at least five years prior to the Bill being enacted into Law.

Once made into law, immigrants meeting the criteria will essentially have the opportunity to "earn" Permanent Residency. This means that students will be issued temporary Residency for a period of six years, which is conditioned upon meeting certain educational or military requirements. Within the six year temporary Residency period, a qualified student must attend college, and earn at least a two year degree (AA), or serve in the U.S. Military for two years in order to maintain immigration benefits. Once the immigrant has met all of the conditions at the end of the 6-year conditional period, they will be granted Permanent Residency, which will lead to U.S. citizenship. However, if the student does not comply with either the college requirement or military service requirement, the temporary Residency will be taken away and student will be subjected to deportation.

General Requirements:

Under the new DREAM Act, immigrants may qualify in part, by meeting the following requirements which have not been finalized by Congress:

- Must be between the ages of 12 and 35 at the time the Law is enacted
- Must have arrived in the United States before the age of 16
- Must have resided continuously in the United States for a least five (5) consecutive years since
the date of their arrival
- Must have graduated from a U.S. High School, or obtained a General Education Diploma
(GED)
- Must have "Good moral character"

Other Benefits:

In addition to the temporary Residency, immigrant students who qualfiy would also be entitled to apply for student loans and work study, but would not be eligible for Pell educational grants.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Unfortunately, I'm in this situation and need everyone's help! The passing of this act can change my life forever!

You can help by calling the Senators listed below and urging them to pass the act:

Dream Act 2010 Thanks to University Dream Network Nevada for the information.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has stated that he WILL bring DREAM to the Senate floor when he has the 60 votes. This is great news to everyone! Our DREAMs are closer then they have ever been we just need YOU to help!

Be a part of this momentous occasion in history…students have been fighting for the DREAM Act for more then a decade, we are almost to the top of the mountain…those before us have been pushing hard now we can make that final push for our future please participate.
It may seem like you are not making a difference by simply calling but Senators work off of this, every time we call they tally them and at the end of the day the Senator is told. Many people call in against the DREAM Act everyday so let’s show them we really want it!

-University Dream Network
universitydreamnetwork@gmail.com

Need to Move:

Script: "Hi, my name is (first name) and I am calling to urge the member to co-sponsor the Dream act. This bill would allow for undocumented young people who were brought to this country at a very young age to fix their legal status by going to school for two years or joining the military. This is a bill that is based on hard work and education, all founding principles of this country, and should be something the member should support. Please pass on my message urging the member to co-sponsor the DREAM Act (s.729 / h.b. 1751). Thank you."

Attached is a list of the top 13 Senators to call, for the top 5 I added reasons why and their stance. If you can call all of them at least once a day it would be great! Remember no Senator is a waste of time so lets keep at it!!!

John Eric Ensign (R-NV)
119 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510 (202) 224-6244
Web Form: ensign.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.Con...

His stance:
"It's crazy that we subsidize the education of all these smart people, give them advanced degrees and then require them to go home," Ensign said in a phone interview
http://www.lvrj.com/news/9192452.html

Why you should call him: He has stated support for the DREAM Act only if it was to ‘stand-alone’ now this is the time to call him and tell him to do it!

George LeMieux (R-FL)
356 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510 (202) 224-3041
Web Form: lemieux.senate.gov/public/?p=EmailSenatorLeMieux
Or 1-888-254-5087

His stance:
‘He was very swift to say, that he is not against the Dream Act in any way but, rather, that the possibilities of it coming up to the floor were minimal in his mind.’
http://www.dreamactivist.org/blog/2010/09/09/george-lemieux-meets-dream-act-advocates/u

Why you should call him: He has been feeling the pressure of the DREAMERs and knows that it is crucial to voters!

Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
290 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510 (202) 224-5972 Web Form: lgraham.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.Em...

His stance:
Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a Republican who had been a supporter of immigration reform but has evidently changed his position in order to better defend his seat in his conservative state.
http://dreamact.info/forum/showthread.php?t=16244

Why you should call him: Sen. Graham has been on the fence and now after trying to introduce the petition to repeal the 14th amendment (‘Anchor Baby’ Law) he is trying to appeal to his voters rather than his conscience lets show him there are a lot more voters who support DREAM!


John McCain (R-AZ)
241 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510 (202) 224-2235 Web Form: mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.Con...

His stance:
McCain was a co-sponsor of The DREAM Act of 2007, and an earlier Senate bill that provided for comprehensive immigration reform, including the DREAM Act of 2006. McCain was a co-sponsor of the DREAM Act of 2005.
http://diverseeducation.com/article/10553/

Why you should call him: Sen. McCain was once at the forefront of the DREAM battle even cosponsoring it. Now after a presidential defeat he has refused to support the DREAM Act. We know he supports it morally so let’s get him to come back and support it in the Senate!

Jon Kyl (R-AZ)
730 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-4521
Web Form: kyl.senate.gov/contact.cfm

His stance:
"Kyl served as one of the chief authors of the immigration reform legislation, which would have bolstered border security, offered a path to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants..."
http://jonkylisaliar.blogspot.com/

Why you should call him: He has flip flopped on the immigration issue and until the citizens of Arizona called him out he was all for immigration reform.

Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-TX)
284 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510 (202) 224-5922
Web Form: hutchison.senate.gov/contact.cfm

John Cornyn (R-TX)
517 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-2934
Web Form: cornyn.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=ContactForm

Orrin G Hatch (R-UT)
104 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-5251
Web Form: hatch.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Offices.Cont...

Sam Brownback (R-KS)
303 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-6521
Web Form: brownback.senate.gov/public/contact/emailsam.cfm

Jeff Bingaman (D-NM)
703 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-5521
Web Form: bingaman.senate.gov/contact/

Tom Udall (D-NM)
110 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-6621
Web Form: tomudall.senate.gov/?p=contact

Susan Collins (R-ME)
413 DIRKSEN SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510 (202) 224-2523
Web Form: collins.senate.gov/public/continue.cfm?FuseAction=Contact...

Olympia Snowe (R-ME)
154 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-5344
Web Form: snowe.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactSenat...

Guys, it really takes NO effort to call these Senators and tell them how much it would help to pass the DREAM ACT 2010. I'm positive I'm not the only smasher in this illegal situation, so please take some time in your day tomorrow to call these Senators. IT HELPS A LOT!

 

[metalreflectslime]

Thanks

I'll call these senators.
Thanks for the heads up.

 

[JDM]

Edit your post slime. There was no reason to quote that wall of text.

 

[DanteFox]

lol huy there was absolutely no reason to quote that haha. XD
edit: beaten by Jay Dee Em.
good stuff andy.

 

[pockyD]

can someone give cliff notes

 

[Lovage]

no *** you lazy azz

-leon

 

[pockyD]

dey took our jobs!

 

[Andymosity]

this has been up for a day and no one has offered to help :[ where you guys at?

edit: thanks for the support, mrs

 

[pockyD]

you posted like a thousand word essay where the average smashboards reader has the attention span of like 3 lines

PARAPHRASE

 

[MacD]

McCain was a co-sponsor of The DREAM Act of 2007, and an earlier Senate bill that provided for comprehensive immigration reform, including the DREAM Act of 2006. McCain was a co-sponsor of the DREAM Act of 2005.
http://diverseeducation.com/article/10553/

apparently i used to support it, isn't that enough reason to call pocky?

 

[Nasty_Nate]

Double post

 

[Nasty_Nate]

Wtf immigrant children already get the same benefits as US residents.....

You dont really mean immigrant children do you......

(Warning, subject matter below may offend)

Spoiler

Illegal immigration is a crime that harms every tax paying citizen in america. You can pretend its racism/conservatism/greed/etc, but the bottom line is that it harms every legal resident of the United States, including the legal immigrants, who have worked diligently to do things the correct way to basically have their own people spit in their faces and cheat the system. Of course many people argue that the benefits outweigh the costs, but if anyone sits down and makes a half-a.ss attempt to do some research, the truth becomes obvious.

Promoting amnesty to illegals only encourages more people to cheat the system. I do feel bad for illegal's children, but only because they're parents decided to put them in this unfortunate situation.

Also be careful of these "safe words" that straddle the fence in order to support their cause. Issued temporary residency? So if they dont "earn" residency, they happily walk back across the border? How many people do you think will sign up for this program to "attend college" or "serve the military" and then go into hiding once something doesnt work out (assuming they intended to follow the program in the first place). What about "Must have good moral character"? I wonder what kind of test they have for that. I am impressed that the act spells DREAM though, my heart is breaking just thinking about voting no on it. You can't say no to children's dreams!

I feel for you Andymosity, with no sarcasm whatsoever. I have illegal friends myself. But this only encourages actions that will further damage our economy and way of life in the future.
*braces for shtstorm*

 

[Squidster]

This definitely seems worthwhile.

And Emil, I understand why you get angry at the thought of illegal immigration, but this bill is not what you should be raging about. The bill only helps illegals who came in as minors (ie, didn't consciously cheat the system), and who have completed high school (ie, have something to contribute.) Moreover, the bill mandates that these people complete college during temporary residency.

1.

Illegal immigration is a crime that harms every tax paying citizen in america.

That’s not what this bill is about and nobody will contest that. Yes, illegal immigrants are a strain on the system. Yes, it would be helpful to stop illegal immigration. No, we shouldn’t give citizenship to everyone.

But the reason illegal immigration is bad is because it leaves the system with a bunch of people who are reaping in the benefits of state and federal taxes while avoiding a lot of the payments. It also sets up a lower class of people who aren’t able to pursue education or go into a higher paying job / position of power because they don’t have legal documentation. Taking children, giving them a college education and legalizing them so they pay taxes does not strain the system in this way.

2.

Promoting amnesty to illegals only encourages more people to cheat the system.

This is where the cost / benefit analysis comes in. Of course, this argument is an assumption that passing this bill will increase the amount of illegal immigrants, which is a narrow claim considering how targeted the bill is.

However, even if it does increase it by some amount, the benefit of added educated, middle class, tax paying citizens would likely outweigh the cost. If this bill suddenly makes every Mexican jump the border, we might have an issue, but realistically, it wont.

3.

Issued temporary residency? So if they dont "earn" residency, they happily walk back across the border? How many people do you think will sign up for this program to "attend college" or "serve the military" and then go into hiding once something doesnt work out (assuming they intended to follow the program in the first place). What about "Must have good moral character"? I wonder what kind of test they have for that. I am impressed that the act spells DREAM though, my heart is breaking just thinking about voting no on it. You can't say no to children's dreams!

This isn’t an actual impact to passing the bill, this is at most an argument that the bill wont solve AS MUCH as it says it will. This bill doesn’t claim to stop immigration in its entirety and it doesn’t claim that its gonna make EVERY child a college educated citizen.
Why would they go back into hiding after completing college? If they do, we’ll have some documentation on them and it might be easier to find them. If we don’t find em, we’re back to where we started. This isn’t encouraging extra immigrants, its an attempt to make current immigrants more productive.

Good moral character doesn’t matter much, college education is enough of a bright line.

DREAM doesn’t matter much, every act has a catchy title.


Last thing is this might be some misunderstanding. You said immigrant children get the same benefit but this bill is about people immigrated here as minors, nor people who were born in the US by illegal parents.

 

[Nasty_Nate]

I never said I was angry. Whats wrong is wrong and that's that.

It's not a narrow claim to say it will increase ILLEGAL (very important word) immigration. People already illegally immigrate for jobs, government benefits, and education, now they will come for the chance at residency, and some for college education. First you get temporary residency AND theres a possibility of permanent residency? Please, the result is obvious. (im fairly certain few will come to join the military though...)

I dont think you give people enough credit. Illegals do all sorts of stuff to stay here, including forging documents. How do you think they enter the school systems? It is very easy to fake being here 5 years. It might be hard to fake a high school diploma/G.E.D (I wouldn't know) but crazier things tend to happen.

Obviously if someone completes the program they wont go back into hiding, but do you really think everyone that applies legitimately wants to finish the program? Even for those that KNOW they are not college material, it's free residency with no catch. And for those who fail, do you think they will voluntarily follow the laws and return home? Here you might be giving them too much credit.

Your right about the children statement, but teenagers doesn't sound as good. Also OP said it in his first post

Believe me when I say there is no shortage of college students. Every college I know of is packed and accepting less and less applicants as time goes on. This act only compounds the problems illegal immigration brings with it. The only people this act will help are the people who apply for the program, and while this is noble, it comes at the expense of the legal residents.

Children, who's parents took the effort to legally immigrate for education, may be denied admittance to an overpopulated school that contains students who's parents illegally snuck them in. To me that is the true evil

 

[pockyD]

it sounds like you're encouraging illegal immigration since they'll now be giving their kids a better future?

**** that

remember, there's such thing as LEGAL immigration. they have every opportunity to do it the right way!

 

[DanteFox]

That’s not what this bill is about and nobody will contest that. Yes, illegal immigrants are a strain on the system. Yes, it would be helpful to stop illegal immigration.

I contest that. People always say this but only ever follow up with vague claims that illegals take up social benefits and stuff to that effect. Where's the evidence of this? I see no evidence and have plenty of anecdotal evidence to the contrary.

I'm also doubtful that stopping illegal immigration would be all that beneficial, especially in a state like california. :lol

legal immigration isn't as easy as signing some papers either.

 

[Nasty_Nate]

^Because showing how hard it is to become legal is the same as showing that illegals benefit the country.

You've obviously done a lot of research in this subject

*end sarcasm*
I have. Google is your friend. Try finding articles, statistics, and arguments that are as unbiased/accurate as possible. Try to look at the issue from both sides of the subject, weigh the pros and cons, see if there is evidence behind the statements people make.

If you haven't seen any evidence you aren't looking hard enough.

 

[pockyD]

but WHO CARES if they can't get in?

america's not even that great

maybe we should just legalize immigration into like montana and iowa or some ****

 

[Squidster]

First you get temporary residency AND theres a possibility of permanent residency? Please, the result is obvious. (im fairly certain few will come to join the military though...)

IF you were brought here under 16 AND lived here for at least 5 years AND have a high school diploma. This is meant to disincentivize people coming in to get this cause you have to have proof that you’ve been here for awhile.

Even for those that KNOW they are not college material, it's free residency with no catch.

Um… no? You’d have to have a high school diploma and finish college / army if you want residency.

And for those who fail, do you think they will voluntarily follow the laws and return home?

They’d come out of hiding for the program, be monitored during their stay, get deported if they fail. Or, successfully hide, and be back to where we started.

And finally I’ll address

It is very easy to fake being here 5 years. It might be hard to fake a high school diploma/G.E.D (I wouldn't know) but crazier things tend to happen.

This argument makes the most sense and is the most convincing. The thing is that the argument is centered around the thought that the bill will not be effective / be properly enforced. If you think it’s a good idea but that it wont be implemented well, its still a good start that be improved upon later.

Unless your reason for disliking it is that

Children, who's parents took the effort to legally immigrate for education, may be denied admittance to an overpopulated school that contains students who's parents illegally snuck them in. To me that is the true evil

Well I guess I just disagree with you on that on a personal level.

I don’t think I deserve to go to college more than anyone in mexico just cause I got lucky with where my parents were born. In an ideal world these illegal immigrants would go to school / have that life in their own country. That’s not REALLY an option most of the time. If a kid is born here from illegal parents (or got snuck in but he worked hard through high school for example) then yeah… I do think they have as much of a right as I do to get into college / live a good life.


Dantefox…. No… illegals hurt the system. I don’t feel like going into why. Yes, cheap (illegal) labor for some jobs is nice, but they hurt a LOT more than they help, especially considering how many there are.

Pocky: that’s an awesome idea XD

 

[DanteFox]

Dantefox…. No… illegals hurt the system. I don’t feel like going into why. Yes, cheap (illegal) labor for some jobs is nice, but they hurt a LOT more than they help, especially considering how many there are.

K I guess I'll just take your word for it.


LOL.

Still not convinced.

 

[WHA?]

u got my support, im on this
also, do u know anything about some ppl goin directly and lobbying, but asking for $25 donations to help them? im play it safe when $$$$ is involved so idk, if u want ill email u the thing