The DREAM Act Must Be Stopped

Why would I be so adamant about the DREAM Act when all that its proponents claim it would do is help “young immigrants?” Why am I opposed to a piece of legislation that has been cunningly marketed as a means of addressing an injustice to help a relatively small number of kids attain the “American Dream?” After all, aren’t we “all immigrants or the descendants of immigrants?” Here is the reality behind the DREAM Act, the reality that is being kept from the citizens of the United States by all too many “journalists” who continue to propagate the myth that the DREAM Act is simply legislation that would prevent the punishing of children who were brought to the United States, illegally, by their parents. Let us first consider the name of the bill. The DREAM Act is an acronym for: Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act. Advocates for amnesty decry the use of the term “alien” saying that this word is the equivalent of the “N” word. (In point of fact, the term alien is a legal term that is defined by our nation’s immigration laws as simply being any person who is not a citizen or national of the United States. There is no insult here, only clarity–something the open borders/pro-amnesty advocates attempt to avoid at every opportunity.) In conjunction with the issue of clarity, the difference between an immigrant and an illegal alien is comparable to the difference between a house guest and a burglar. However, in order to conjure up the image of the “American Dream” the advocates for this bill dropped their opposition to this term and incorporated it into the acronym. The bill also uses the term “Minor.” This is another bit of verbal subterfuge. According to the version of the bill that the House of Representatives just approved, aliens who would not have turned 30 years of age by the time the bill would be enacted would qualify to participate. How could anyone with a straight face claim that a 29 year old adult is a “Minor?” Suddenly we are not talking about a relative handful of young immigrants but will likely be talking about many millions of adult aliens who are approaching middle age. It must be presumed that the DREAM Act would enable many more illegal aliens to attain lawful status than did the wrong-headed Amnesty of 1986. While it may sound reasonable to say that aliens who entered the United States before their 16th birthday would be eligible to participate in this program, the reality is that there would not be any effort made to verify when any of these applications actually entered the United States. Remember we are talking about millions of potential applicants who are “undocumented.” This means that there is absolutely no record of when, where or how they entered the United States. Most illegal aliens use multiple false identities in order to hide in plain sight. Asking an illegal alien his or her name can trigger a veritable “Magical Mystery Tour” that can go on for quite some time. This is not conjecture on my part, but is what I encountered nearly every day I was at work as an INS Special Agent for approximately 26 years. Additionally, schools do not discuss citizenship or immigration status with enrolled students and are often forbidden from even raising the immigration issue with the students or their parents. Schools are also unwilling to disclose immigration information to the federal government. How would the folks at USCIS determine the identities of the applicants for participation in the DREAM Act? How would those hapless bureaucrats maintain productivity–something that is of extreme importance to their bosses, and also seek to determine the eligibility of the multitude of applications that would cross their desks each day? I’ve been told that when USCIS was putting together a plan of action to deal with “Comprehensive Immigration Reform” that the “leadership” in that bureaucratic cesspool were actually planning on not conducting in-person interviews for most of the applicants. They were simply planning on having the adjudications officers make decisions that were based on applications without face-to-face interviews. It must be presumed that the DREAM Act would be dealt with in the same fashion. Millions of aliens, some of whom would probably be older than the 29 year old cutoff would lie about their age and lie about when they got here. The alien who arrived ten weeks ago might well claim to have arrived ten years ago. The applicants would lie about who they are and the folks at USCIS would reward the liars. Finally, while I certainly empathize with the plight that some of the illegal aliens find themselves in, I am even more concerned about the situation all too many of our fellow Americans find themselves in today. I am concerned that it is estimated that one in five or perhaps one in four American children of all races, religions and ethnicities are not getting adequate nutrition. I am concerned that one in five American families of all races, religions and ethnicities are now living below the poverty line. Don’t you think that before we consider whether or not illegal aliens should get a slice of the “American Dream” that we do whatever it takes to provide opportunities for American families and their children to get their thin slice of the American Dream?