DREAM, deferred

ECW · 11-03-2009, 02:20 PM

Quote:

In the midst of the latest Congressional push for immigration reform, the debate over illegal immigration is becoming more heated than ever before. This is the first of a three-part series on illegal immigration in Arizona and its effects on the state, the economy and the University.

Every year, roughly 65,000 undocumented immigrants graduate from high school in the U.S., according to the nonpartisan Pew Hispanic Center.

They are ineligible to receive federal student aid, an obstacle that keeps many of them from attending college.

http://www.statepress.com/node/8935

Ianus · 11-03-2009, 03:41 PM

Just read the article,but the following quote simply doesn't make any sense from the opposition.Thankfully he isn't a federal lawmaker.

Quote:

State Rep. Steve Montenegro, R-Glendale, who also works in Franks’ office, said the act is unfair to those who go through the immigration process legally. He added that he would be in favor of providing undocumented students with a path to legal status if they go through the process of obtaining a visa.

“Where I have difficulty [with the DREAM Act] is granting the students automatic status because of the mistakes of their parents,” Montenegro said.

I think the big picture concerning Dream act is about right.

Quote:

The bigger picture

But proponents of the DREAM Act also face a crucial decision. Many politicians, including Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., and Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., are pushing the DREAM Act as part of comprehensive immigration reform plans that would include guest worker programs and paths to legal status for illegal immigrants.

“Congressman Flake believes that the matter the DREAM seeks to remedy needs to be addressed in the context of more comprehensive immigration reform legislation,” said Matt Specht, a representative of Flake’s office in an e-mail.

Flake co-sponsored a comprehensive immigration reform bill called the STRIVE Act with Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., which would establish a temporary guest worker program while increasing resources for border security and increasing penalties for passport and visa fraud.

Supporters of Flake’s bill, including Grijalva, said the DREAM Act provisions only address one aspect of a much larger, more complex problem.

“We’re really selling ourselves short in only asking for certain provisions [rather] than demanding immigration reform,” said Bertha Guerrero, a spokeswoman for Grijalva’s office. “It’s important to address the multifaceted issue altogether.”

Though they are in favor of comprehensive immigration reform, members of DREAM Act Arizona said they are opposed to combining the two pieces of legislation because they fear the sweeping reforms of a guest worker program will garner less support than the Act by itself. Erica Andiola, a 2009 graduate of ASU’s psychology department who heads the DREAM Act coalition in Arizona, pointed to the failure of the 2007 immigration reform bill, which included the DREAM Act provisions, as evidence of this — the bill failed by a wider margin than the DREAM Act on its own.

“If it’s part of immigration reform, it’s a lot less likely to pass than by itself,” Andiola said. “More people are supportive of the DREAM Act than of the comprehensive immigration bill,” she said.

Rodriguez said the act is in danger of being shelved again if comprehensive reform is not passed, delaying relief to thousands of students.

“We don’t want the DREAM Act to die with comprehensive immigration reform,” he said.

geronimo610 · 11-04-2009, 01:16 AM

Exactly

Vision · 11-04-2009, 01:35 AM

I so agree. When I heard a news that DREAM would be in part of CIR, I was like WTF...

I fail to understand why it can't go alone. In most cases, CIR just messes up DA.

freshh. · 12:13 PM

Quote:

“We don’t want the DREAM Act to die with comprehensive immigration reform,” he said.

What he said is the sad truth of our situation. If DA is packaged with CIR and CIR fails, then immigration reform supporters and beneficiaries like us will have lost yet another year of our lives waiting. My only hope is that if the Democratic leadership realizes that there just aren't enough votes for CIR, beforehand, then they will try to go piecemeal and pass legislation like DREAM.

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DREAM, deferred