"This is an *incredibly* important piece of legislation and it needs the attention"

This Junior High teacher says it all. This e-mail was sent to me by my mother-in-law.


The DREAM Act was introduced this week in the senate. This is an
incredibly important piece of legislation and it needs the
attention of everyone.

The essentials of the DREAM Act are these:
- children who entered this country illegally because they were
brought here by their own parents,
- who have lived here and demonstrated good moral character,
- who complete a 2-year college program, 2 years of a 4-year
program,
or a 2-year term in the armed forces,
- will then receive permanent resident status with the possibility
of
earning US citizenship.

It does NOT grant them special tuition status. It does NOT grant
them
special privileges. It does NOT guarantee them admission to college
or
preference over natural-born citizens. Despite what some in the
media
may say.

I cannot over-emphasize how important this bill is. I have two
strong
arguments in favor of the DREAM Act.

1) THE EMOTIONAL, MORAL ARGUMENT: What are we about as a country?
Are
we the land of opportunity or not? Are we really invested in having
a
class of people who have no viable future in our country and nowhere
to go back to in the lands their parents left? Children who had no
say
in the survival choices made by their parents?

2) THE PRACTICAL, AMORAL ARGUMENT: Take a child who grows up seeing
evidence that nation he has lived in his entire life is aligned
against him. He doesn’t feel protected by the laws of the land. By
age
12 he has figured out that there is no path to education open to
him:
not university, not college, not trade school. He has figured out
that
there is no path to a job that will provide a living wage for him.
This is the country he has lived in his entire life and he has no
other home to “go back to”. He is smart, he is talented, and he
has
will. But he has no legal opportunities. What choices do you think
that child-boy or girl-is going to start making? Now, multiply that
by
65,000 children. A year.

I see this every day in my job. I see bright, good, strong kids.
They
systematically have every choice, every path toward success, severed
by the land they live in. What choices do we expect them to make?

We have universities and colleges failing due to low enrollment. We
have an entire generation of children aching for a future. This is
their home, the only home they know, and they want to be a part of
it.
This bill doesn’t give them anything other than the chance to rise
or
fall on their own merits. Everything I was taught growing up tells
me
they deserve that chance.

If you want to know more about the DREAM Act, here are two good
places to start…
- “DREAM Act” article on Wikipedia,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DREAM_Act
- “The DREAM Act Portal”, http://dreamact.info/

The Portal will tell you which senators are for, against, and
undecided.
I’m asking you to call them or email them (go to
http://www.senate.gov
for info).
I’m hoping you’ll tell them to vote “Yea” if they’re
undecided, or
give support if they are already a yes vote.

Please pass this on, share it with others, and start talking about
it.
This is vitally important.

jon

"Them as can do has to do for them as can't. And someone has to
speak
up for them as has no voices."
- Terry Pratchett, "The Wee Free Men"