Hi, I am a new supporter of the DREAM act, I had not heard of it before the Obama campaign though I live in California.
I have been trying to find out if anyone has done any sort of cost analyzes on how much money and productivity is being lost by having all these educated people not working.
I find its easy to convince even the most anti-immigration people that the DREAM act is good when I point out that it will allow people we have already paid for who are here anyhow to work and pay taxes and help the country. The people who are anti-immigration tend to be anti-tax, etc because they really care about money. To get through to these people, using a financial appeal would work better than an emotional one.
It would be a good way to get through to the republican senators too.
If good numbers don't exist, perhaps someone here can find a reputed economist to produce them. I have no idea how they are done. But I"m sure its possible with reasonable estimates of the number and education of people who aren't working because they don't have papers.
Hi and welcome to DAP Julia......I wish I could tell you that some raw data will convince some of these anti-immigrant groups but thats far from the truth. There have been some well educated people that have spoken on our behalf with little no effect on these groups. Last week the college board came out in support of the DREAM ACT repudiating some of their biggest issues with this law yet many of them ignore the findings of such a strong, reputable and unbiased organization. You can read about this article http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/...n/6383965.html
I'm not able to point you to any actual raw analyses that have been done but I know some have been done. I think the bottom line is these groups promote fear of the "FACE" of America changing. That is primarily why they exist. Unfortunately many people have never lived outside their little bubbles to know better.