Dream Act - What's the Rush?

The US House and Senate are expected to hold votes on the DREAM Act later this week, sometime between Wednesday, Dec. 8 and Friday, Dec. 10, but what’s the rush? I am all for having an open and honest debate on the merits of the DREAM Act, but the last time there was a congressional hearing on this bill was seven years ago when I was 12 years old! Believe me—a lot has changed in this time, and this week is definitely not the time to be having a debate on the DREAM Act.

What is most interesting are the conservatives who are advocating for passage of the DREAM Act. I don’t necessarily think the idea that a conservative could support the DREAM Act is weird, but while aspects of it might be beneficial if opened up for discussion, this piece of legislation is in its fourth or fifth revision and surely laden with harmful changes and hidden “riders” that even the Act’s most ardent supporters would acknowledge are unnecessary. It baffles me that despite the fact that unemployment ticked up to 9.8 percent this month, certain politicians would rather focus on social issues before taking solid steps to get more people back to work.

To believe the passage of the DREAM Act would do more for our ailing economy than extending the Bush cuts during the lame-duck session is incredibly wrong. For one, the Bush tax cuts are on a set deadline and our elected officials should be more concerned with preventing a massive tax increase than with rushing through another large piece of legislation they haven’t even read. While aspects of the DREAM Act have potential to contribute to our economy, it is ridiculous to believe that the DREAM Act in its current form is the one issue facing the lame-duck session of Congress that can do the most to turn our economy around.

I understand how frustrating waiting can be, but it is important that if we are going to tackle major pieces of legislation, we get it as right as possible. Immigration and border security are extremely important in our national dialogue right now, but with so many Americans unemployed, it is more important to get them back to work. In these last waning days of the lame-duck session of the 111th Congress, I would suggest our representatives focus on extending the Bush tax cuts in order to keep from kicking the American job market while it’s down.

Once our economy has rebounded, I think most members of Congress would be open to having an honest discussion on the DREAM Act and all sorts of other bills that address a wide range of issues. This is not the right bill for America at this time when nearly one in ten Americans cannot find a job and even more have lost hope or stopped looking, so again, why the rush? I hope more people can keep in mind that in the midst of this recession, we have less than a month before the largest tax increases in recent history—let’s get our priorities straight!

Comments

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What's the rush? Students have been waiting for this for 10 years, it has been a hard struggle for them. The bill will contribute to the economy and cut the deficit by 1.4 billion in the first year alone not to mention the tremendous amount that these students will add to our economic and educational institutions. Give the racism a rest people and stop trying to hold on to the racist exclusions of the U.S. past. 

Where do you get your figures?  From the lamestream media that's trying to push this sure-to-be fiasco?  When 12m people are added to the system, we're screwed.  They will HAVE to be paid at least minimum wage, which most of them aren't right now, which means more money going to people who came here illegally in the first place.  What's so hard about coming here the right way?  Honestly!  It doesn't impact us right now because they're only getting paid like two dollars an hour, but once they get paid what they're supposed to be getting paid, THEY will get laid off.  Unemployment will go up, because now they'll be getting laid off as well, and the Americans who rightfully deserve these jobs that "no one wants" will have less of a chance to get by!  Your name should be changed from "common sense" to "pure idiocy".

I pray to God that this dream act passes. I've been in the US since I was 7 years old. When my parents immigrated to the states they went on the right path to get their citizenship but during the process the attorney who was dealing their case never filed for extension of their I-94.(I-94:Is a card that tell a person how long they can stay in the US before returning home or applying for citizenship.) The lawyer had already taken $5000 from my parents for filing our family's case.Due to the lawyer not applying for an extension we became illegal and he never gave us our money back. I'm 20 years old now I cant go to college or join the United States Air Force or any branch of military. I have taken many practice ASVAB test and my scores are always close to 75-80. God bless America! I would die for this country.THIS IS MY COUNTRY AND ALWAYS WILL BE
*I DO PAY MY TAXES THROUGH MY TAX
ID NUMBER.
*I volunteer at the local free medical clinic.
*I donate to money to local and national charities.
*I donate blood,I don't drink,smoke.
*English is the only language I know how to read and write.
*All the money I do make I spend it in the United States because this is my home.
*please you don't have to have sympathy for me but just think about my situation.

GOD BLESS UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

AND FOR THE BORDER WHY DONT WE START BUILDING THE BORDER THAT WILL GIVE PEOPLE JOBS. MAKE OUR OWN MATERIAL TO BUILD THE WALLS IN THE USA THAT WILL GIVE PEOPLE JOBS JUST TAKE ISRAEL FOR EXAMPLE THEY WANTED TERRORIST,DRUGS AND WHATEVER OUT THEY BUILT A WALL. HECK IF I GET LEGALIZED WITH THE DREAM ACT I WILL VOLUNTEER 2 WEEKS NO PAY JUST TO BUILD THIS BORDER. AGAIN GOD BLESS THE USA 

just because someone does not agree with you does mean thay are a racist and as soon as I hear you calling me a racist you lost your argument America put a black man in the with house that says all I need to know about America and just the fact that America put you Thur K-12 PAID FOR ALL YOU BROTHERS AND SISTERS TO BE BORN HERE AND YOUR HEALTH CARE ALL YOUR LIFE YOU SCHOUD SAY THANK YOU NOT DEMAND MORE ANDMORE ANDMOREANDMOREANDMOREANDMOREANDMOREANDMORE

I agree.  We need to pass the Dream Act.  You are hearing this fro ma 32/white male.  Unfortunately the author of this article os WAY OFF!  We have finally gotten out of a recession.  Another thing Fernando needs to understand is that it is not good to have a population the size of Houston living in this country that cannot adavance in the workplace.  These DREAMERS are future Drs, Teachers, Policeman, Fireman, all thos things mentioned, THEY CANNOT ACHIEVE because they do not have a SSN#.

PASS THE DREAM ACT NOW.  BOOST THE ECONOMY!

Racism?  Really?  I was going to reply to your comment, as the first half had potential to be constructive...but by charging me as a racist you have lost all of your credibility and "common sense"... I hope that those who will be upset over this post will actually read it and realize that I do not completely disagree with the DREAM Act and I know how productive we Latinos are and how much we can contribute.  My only concern is that so much has changed in the bill that there are surely plenty of unintended consequences and more could be accomplished if we could have a civil discussion rather than ignorantly partake in name calling.  

The bill will slash 1.4 billion dollars off our deficit. 

Thank you so much for your comment Jamie.  I was born and raised on the border and I have a great amount of sympathy for people who are in your situation.  I actually have plenty of family and family friends who have been or currently are stuck in a very similar situation.  

 

The reason I am against this DREAM Act, in its current form, is that its proponents do not have your best interest at heart, they just want your vote next time around.  This is an act of desperation, why would they be so intent on passing a 4th version of a bill that was written nearly a decade ago?  

 

The majority of those who want to become citizens are like you, and I think it would be worth it to give those who are like you a chance to do so...BUT, in order to make this happen we need our legislators to get serious about the entire issue and stop playing politics with peoples' lives.  

 

I hope that once the new congress takes office we will have leaders willing to take steps to make our borders more secure, find out who is in our country and what they have contributed, make sure that criminals are not given free pass, and work a deal that is best for our economy and the lives of all citizens.  This problem, as I'm sure you well know, is extremely complex and something like the DREAM Act can only solve a tiny part of it which is why these things can't be rushed.

 

I wish you and your family all the best!  God bless. 

Wtf are you talking about? Do you have any idea what the Dream Act does? 12million people would not benefit from this Act. The qualifications are EXTREMELY stringent, most people would not qualify, which is sad enough. Probably less than a million would benefit from the Dream Act. Do your research before you people come up on here and start posting bull.

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