What Is Goin’ On?

You may remember several months ago when the bipartisan effort at comprehensive immigration reform (another way of saying “amnesty”) was defeated. Since the defeat, the effort to pass some form of amnesty for illegal aliens has not ended, it just takes on different forms. The latest reincarnation is the Dream Act which was similarly defeated last week by a vote of 52-44. Believe it or not, the Dream Act was first introduced in 2001. It was also included as a part of the comprehensive reform effort. It apparently has 9 lives. Maybe more.

In this interview with Steve Elliott, Executive Director of GrassFire.Org, Steve discusses this most recent effort at amnesty. One of the major provisions of The Dream Act purported to provide a “Path for Citizenship” to illegal aliens that came to America before the age of 16. And how does an illegal alien prove he arrived in America before age 16? Let’s see! An illegal alien does not have papers documenting the illegal entry into the U.S. Under the Dream Act, he just says he got here before he was 16, even if it was actually last month. Further, according to Steve, he can make this claim 10 years from now.

You may recall that the earlier comprehensive legislation was essentially written behind closed doors and was unveiled shortly before the vote in an effort to force a vote without providing either the public or our representatives an adequate opportunity to study and understand the legislation. Well, the same kind of strong-arm tactics continue to the order of the day. According to GrassFire:

Harry Reid and Dick Durbin are using “Rule 14” to push the Dream Amnesty Act directly to the Senate floor — bypassing committee hearings, debate and markup. To invoke Rule 14, Reid and Durbin must get 60 “yes” votes on a special cloture vote.

Our own Georgia Senators, Chambliss and Isaakson, initially supported amnesty and a “Path to Citizenship,” but changed their minds when they realized that most Georgians do not favor amnesty. Last week, they both voted against the Dream Amnesty Act.

Here is how the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) describes the legislation:

The bipartisan Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act of 2003 (S.1545), or DREAM Act, would also make it easier for immigrant students who have met long-term residency and other requirements to pursue permanent legal residency status. HACU supports this legislation and companion House legislation as the opportunity to open new doors to college for tens of thousands of talented students.

Note that HACU makes no attempt to clarify that “minor” is in the US illegally.

And here is how the National Immigration Law Center describes the “need” for the legislation:

Each year about 65,000 U.S.–raised students who would qualify for the DREAM Act’s benefits graduate from high school. These include honor roll students, star athletes, talented artists, homecoming queens, and aspiring teachers, doctors, and U.S. soldiers. They are young people who have lived in the U.S. for most of their lives and desire only to call this country their home. Even though they were brought to the U.S. years ago as children, they face unique barriers to higher education, are unable to work legally in the U.S., and often live in constant fear of
detection by immigration authorities. Our immigration law currently has no mechanism to consider the special equities and circumstances of such students. The DREAM Act would eliminate this flaw. It is un-American to indefinitely and irremediably punish them for decisions made by adults many years ago. By enacting the DREAM Act, Congress would legally recognize what is de facto true: these young people belong here.

Makes it sound right, doesn’t it! Well, it isn’t. But this isn’t about education for minors. As the NILC article recognizes, the children of illegal aliens are being educated. This isn’t about racism or xenophobia. Pardon me for harping on this, but this is about American sovereignty. When the President of Mexico says that where ever a Mexican is, there is Mexico, I know that our neighbor to the South is nuts. Mexico is a politically corrupt country with a third world mentality and standard of living. Mexico would love to export its problems and its poverty to America and import our money to its economy. They want, and are even demanding open borders so that they have absolutely no barrier between our standard of living and theirs.

We need a sensible and reasonable immigration policy. We need a fence on the border for security. We need to enforce the laws we have. We don’t need to give to Mexico what it wants.