High school and college graduates face dim job prospects in this recession. But students repeatedly denied the opportunity to legalize their immigration status are confronting even bigger hurdles and fewer choices. Congress must end their legal limbo by passing the DREAM Act.
This paper regularly reports on the heartbreaking stories of undocumented youths who are not allowed to pursue their aspirations and contribute to the only nation they know as their home.
The DREAM Act would open a door to them. It would give undocumented high school graduates who meet certain criteria a temporary legal status if they either obtain an associate’s degree or complete military service.
As expected, anti immigrant groups oppose the DREAM Act. They claim native-born students will be supplanted in schools and that the parents of these young people broke the law.
But penalizing them is not an answer or solution. Nor is depriving our nation of the talent waiting in the wings.
As the baby boomer generation ages, our nation needs young productive people—native born and immigrant—to replenish the workforce. And the practice in our nation has long been such that we invest in the education of young people not because they instantly yield returns, but because of the promise they bring for the future.
As for depriving others of opportunities, this is a false argument. For example, studies that have looked at states that allow undocumented students to pay in-state tuition rates show that native-born students are not adversely affected.
Obama is convening a twice-postponed meeting at the White House this week to initiate immigration reform planning. The Dream Act is one of the measures within that reform that should not have to wait for passage. It has been in the pipeline for several years, and with it, the dreams of many eager young people deferred.
