Who’s American DREAM is this?

Once upon a time, New Jersey had Governor who thought it would be a great idea to allow illegal aliens in the our state to get drivers licenses, receive in state tuition, among a host of other things. I was livid when this came around, and as far as I know possibly still around. I think our lovely Governor at the time either missed the memo or over looked it but the key word is ILLEGAL.

Now  the federal government wants to this DREAM Act to become a federal law that will allow illegal aliens to receive in state tuition. Well at least the older version of the bill did. The DREAM Act is also a bi-partisian bill created by Sen. Orin Hatch [R-UT] and Sen. Richard Durbin [D-IL] that can [stop the] “…hemorrhaging injustice in our society. Under the rigorous provisions of the DREAM Act, qualifying undocumented youth would be eligible for a 6 year long conditional path to citizenship that requires completion of a college degree or two years of military service.” (taken from the dreamact.info)

I’m sorry did we all miss the part were it said undocumented youth? Undocumented. Ya know, uhm, illegal. I have a huge problem with a completion of two years of military service, that to me is a huge national security risk. And of course community colleges loved this idea of in-state tuition, more money for them. I get it, community college is a business and a business needs to make money in order to survive.

Yesterday the House voted on the DREAM act and it passed with 216-198. Thank you to the 38 Democrats who voted against this measure. And to the 8 Republicans who voted for it, I am disappointed.   The act now goes to the Senate and hopefully this will fail. Allowing illegal aliens to partake in any part of this act is allowing  for a new wave of illegals to just enter the country freely.  Some of the illegal immigrants  that come here do partake in drug trafficking and other forms of criminal behavior.

So are politicians really that okay with welcoming illegal aliens into our country? Or are they to afraid to offend a voter block? Who’s American DREAM is this really?

To read more about the DREAM Act, please visit the following links: http://www.numbersusa.com/content/nusablog/beckr/december-7-2010/congress-votes-today-millions-10-year-work-permits-illegal-aliens.htm (a website dedicated to lowering immigration numbers)

The Dream Act Portal: http://dreamact.info/ (this is the website where I got the quote from)

House Roll Call from yesterday’s voting session on the matter: http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2010/roll625.xml#Y

6 Comments

  1. Sure…lets not give them the chance at a better life. Typical. I wonder where your ancestors came from…your name doesn't sound Native American to me.

  2. Mr. Ambrosia,

    I agree with you that those who immigrate to America come here to improve their life. Just as those who come here illegally want a shot at the American dream, so do those who come here legally. What would passage of this act say to those who went through the time and expense of following US law to come here instead of breaking them? Wouldn't this act give preference to those who have broken US law at the expense at those trying to follow it? Why should legal immigrants take a backseat to illegal immigrants?

    And while I cannot determine from your or Ms. Canobbio's name how, when or why your ancestor's came to this country, I will save you asking about mine. They immigrated legally several generations ago.

  3. As did mine. But then, there were no quotas as to how many can come and enjoy this great country. I can understand how someone who came here legally can get frustrated by all this, but this is America and it should be open to all who seek a better life. When you allow only a few hundred thousand people from the tens of millions that want to come here, then something is wrong. Also, since they're here, and we're broke, what kind of money would it take to find, incarcerate and deport these millions. Why not give them the chance at a better life by education and/or service? It just makes sense to me.

  4. Mr. Ambrosia,

    I am a realist. In theory, life would be nice if we all got what we wanted 100% of the time. In reality, if you get what you want 1% of the time, you're lucky. Realistically speaking, it is not feasible to throw the doors open to the tens of millions of new people who want to come here each year. Generations ago ( lets guesstimate 1850-1910s) when our ancestors arrived and you correctly pointed out there were no quotas, 1) just physically getting to America was tougher/more expensive than it was today, creating a barrier to entry and naturally curtailing immigration and 2) US westward expansion allowed for the US to be able to handle much higher levels of immigration. Those two factors do not exist today. I do not believe our country would be able to support that level of immigration each year, so one must put caps on it.

    As for your question concerning a chance at a better life by education and/or service, I am not against anyone improving their lot in life. I am against special treatment. And the DREAM Act does just that. By definition, any illegal immigrant has already broken the law once just by the way they came to this country. It is estimated that despite the breaking of the law, state and federal governments spend around $113 billion annually on services to illegal immigrants. This is basically free money, as unless someone here illegally has obtained a false/someone else's SS number (and committed identity theft), the only taxes someone here illegally has paid are most likely transactional/sales taxes. Rather than say "Hey, something is wrong with this scenario", the government would rather that law aidbiding citizens and legal immigrants continue to subsidize the actions of those who willingly choose to break the laws, while at the same time tell law aibiding citizens and immigrants that if they break the law and don't pay up, they will be punished.

    And I am aware that while a child brought here illegally obviously has no control over their parents decision, no child anywhere has that control over their parents. But realistically speaking, you have to punish the child for the crimes of the parent to act as a deterrent, otherwise you incentivize parents to bring children into the country illegally. Make breaking the law an example of BAD parenting instead of GOOD parenting, and parents will stop putting their children in this position.

    Coincidently, I saw a story yesterday that said the Department of Homeland Security estimated that it would be a one time cost of $135 billion to find, detain and deport all illegal immigrants in the US, or $22 billion more than we spend each year on services for illegal immigrants. From a fiscal perspective, it would be cheaper to deport, as the one time $135 billion deportation cost would be offset by savings from annual services within 15 months.

  5. I am anti-Dream Act and here's one reason why:

    A few years ago, my step-brother, who lived in Cherry Hill at the time, was rear ended by illegal immigrants. They had Pennsylvania license plates, and they had no insurance. Though the accident was 100% NOT his fault, my step-brother and his insurance company shouldered the burdon of paying off the damages to his car. He was forced to work a second job, putting stress on him, his wife, and three kids.

    This has been a problem over the years. I've heard similar stories like this. It's not fair having an influx of illegal immigrants driving around without auto insurance.

    With the Dream Act, I suppose they'll drive around illegally for 2 years. Then they'll have the option to have insurance? Whatever the case, Illegals should take a number and wait in line.

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