House to reconsider bill to help kids of illegal immigrants by Jessie Mangaliman
The Dream Act, a controversial proposal that would give the children of illegal immigrants who graduate from U.S. high schools legal status, and eventually a path to citizenship, was re-introduced this week in the U.S. House of Representatives, giving its many longtime supporters in the Bay Area and around the country hope for its passage in a new Democrat-controlled Congress.
Since 2002, at least four versions of the legislation have been introduced unsuccessfully in both chambers, each time with bi-partisan support. A similar bill is now in the works in the U.S. Senate, as part of a larger immigration reform bill that's expected in the coming weeks.
At a news conference Friday morning in San Francisco, parents of immigrant children and immigrant advocates praised the new bill not as an amnesty, but a chance "to give a future to these children."
"These youngsters don't belong in the streets," said Guadalupe Siordia-Ortiz, a member of a Bay Area immigrant parents group, Comite de Padres Unidos. "We need these children in colleges because they can contribute back to society."
Hector Vega, a 19-year-old freshman at Santa Clara University and an illegal immigrant who was brought as a child from Mexico by his mother, said he is "happy and hopeful."
"I'm really glad that efforts are still continuing for this measure," said Vega, who is in his second quarter at the university on a full scholarship. "I feel more hopeful now because the Democrats are in control."
Although previous proposals had bi-partisan support, Republican-led opposition in both the House and Senate kept the Dream Act languishing in committees.
As in previous proposals, the new Dream Act would allow high school graduates like Vega -- he was a valedictorian at James Lick High School -- temporary legal status, and when they attend college or serve in the military, qualify for legal permanent residence.
But one of Dream Act's long-time opponents, The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), immediately slammed the new proposal.
"It's one tactic to break up amnesty into little pieces that's digestible for the public," said Ira Mehlman, spokesman for FAIR, a group that has opposed the Dream Act since it was first introduced in 2002.
"It's still an amnesty," he said, "a policy that says you can break the law, get your kid through school, then be rewarded with a green card and a tax-payer subsidized college education."
Each year, an estimated 65,000 students brought as children to the United States by their illegal immigrant parents, graduate from American high schools. California, Texas and New York are among the states that have passed laws allowing these students to enroll in public colleges and pay the cheaper in-state tuition rates.
But uncertainty of the lives of these students continue after graduation, said Rep. Howard Berman, a Democrat from Los Angeles.
"When they finish high school, these students must choose between working illegally," Berman said in a news release, "or trying somehow to continue their education while under a legal cloud."
And even those lucky enough to receive scholarships and graduate from college must live with that legal uncertainty, said Rev. Sonny Manuel, rector of the Jesuit community at SCU, where a number of illegal immigrants have attended the private school on scholarships and graduated in the past.
"As graduating seniors, their opportunities are really limited," Manuel said. "I know some of them want to go into teaching, medicine and contribute to society. This will give them hope."
In the new Democrat-led Congress, San Jose Democrat U.S. Zoe Lofgren, new chair of the House subcommittee on immigration, said there is impetus from congressional leaders.
"I want to get it done," Lofgren said. "And the speaker wants to get it done. That's a big departure from the last 12 years."
Supporters of the new Dream Act said they are optimistic.
"I think the chances are better than ever," said Judith Golub, executive director of the Immigrant Legal Resource Center in San Francisco. "It's more and more clear we need to reform our immigration laws, why, specifically, Dream Act needs to be passed
