After volleying between the House of Representatives and the Senate since 2001, the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act might finally see the light of day.
Congressional leaders have said the act will be reintroduced during this session as an almost certain amendment to a defense authorization bill, along with the equally controversial repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
Americans seem to be on the verge of an all-around victory for self-actualization, as the dreams for hundreds of thousands of eligible young adults who were brought to this country as minors and raised in the U.S. have a chance at a semi-normal adult life, free from floating in a limbo of rules and reality.
Imagine what it’s like to grow up, turn 18 and be told you aren’t and may never be an active part of the society you’ve been raised in.
Even if the DREAM Act is passed, your two options would be to either join the military or go to school. There’s no “one-year backpacking trip through Europe” option and no “take a year off to make money” option.
By default of association, you are an illegal immigrant — on paper, that is. Your parents brought you to America from their native country, one with a language or cities you may not know. America is all you’ve known, you’ve watched our reality shows and lived an otherwise “American” life. So why should your transition into adulthood be more of a suspension in limbo between your parents’ past and the only tangible option for your undocumented American future?
The DREAM Act, while it’s certainly not a solution to the problem of illegal immigration in our country, is certainly a step in the right direction and paves a pathway, albeit a narrow one, toward a sense of normalcy.
For those who oppose the DREAM Act, ask what you would do if failing out of college or being ineligible to serve two years in the military meant having to leave the country.
People eligible under this act will need to spend six years earning citizenship.
As far as we’re concerned, someone we grew up with in our grade-school classes is no less American just because their parents are from somewhere else. Doesn’t it only seem fair that they have access to the same scholarship opportunities and educational institutions?
Opponents may say that granting these students “amnesty” will steal jobs away from a suffering job market, but if they earn a college degree in this country, they should be able to use their education here as well.
We hope this bill transcends the dreamscape and we can wake all of our peers out of their R.E.M. and lay the foundation for their journey into an overdue citizenship.
