http://www.onenewsnow.com/Perspectives/Default.aspx?id=1239286This week Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is expected to once again introduce legislation paving the way for illegal immigrants to gain citizenship -- a move many opponents have labeled another incremental attempt by Democrats to grant legal status to illegal aliens.
Its official name is "The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act." But in discussing it, columnist Kimberly Dvorak says the DREAM Act (S.B. 3827) would grant "illegal immigrants in the country amnesty by offering them a college education or the option to join the military as a means to join the legal immigration ranks."
The committee that summarizes legislation for the U.S. Senate says that the bill, if passed, will do the following: It will "authorize the Secretary of Homeland Security to cancel the removal of, and adjust to conditional permanent resident status, an alien who (1) entered the U.S. before his or her 16th birthday and has been present in the United States for at least five years immediately preceding this Act's enactment; (2) is a person of good moral character; is not deportable under specified grounds of the Immigration and Nationality Act; (3) has been admitted to an institution of higher education or has earned a high school diploma...and was under the age of 35 on the date of this Act's enactment."
The White House has already had meetings with Democratic members of the Latino caucus who desperately want the bill to be passed. Heading up the effort for the Obama administration is the Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan. In a teleconference call last week, Duncan declared in his opening statement that these "residents" who have entered the country illegally should be given a passage to citizenship because they've "played by the rules...."
Coming from California -- a state that has a severe budget deficit problem ($20+ billion) -- I had to question Secretary Duncan's assertion. It is conservatively estimated there are more than three-million illegal alien "residents" in our state alone. If only 15 percent (or 450,000) of this total are getting free public education, California's already over-burdened taxpayers are picking up the tab.
Do the math yourself: 450,000 illegal alien "residents" x $7,571 (per student cost of public education, as provided by the California Federation of Teachers) amounts to more than $3.4 billion in taxpayer-funded expense. Without a doubt, taxpayers in The Golden State cannot afford this!
Furthermore, the statement claiming that illegal aliens have "played by the rules" is a blatant lie. Anyone who misrepresents their citizenship status, falsifies their (or their children's) birthplace, social security numbers, or drivers licenses, along with breaking our immigration laws, is not "playing by the rules." Apparently, Secretary Duncan does not understand this. During the aforementioned teleconference, I questioned him on this and reminded him of the results of the most recent election. He responded by saying that there will always be one or two cases out of 50,000+ that do not adhere to the law. Hello?
Don't believe these proponents of the DREAM Act. The National Immigration Law Center argues it "would aid the ailing economy and generate tax revenues [and] will prepare the country for the new global economy." Hogwash! The Federation for American Immigration Reform counters, saying the Act will, in fact, allow these "newly amnestied aliens to be eligible for numerous taxpayer-funded student loan programs." Neither the states nor the federal government can sustain this new expense.
Already, California taxpayers are supporting the community college education of illegal immigrants -- thanks to the Democratic-controlled state legislature. Jeff Schwilk, founder of San Diego Minutemen, recently stated that passage of the DREAM Act "would just encourage more illegal immigration and lead to a massive chain migration from family members. The American people do not support more amnesty for illegal aliens at this time."
Topic: DREAM Act really more of a nightmare (Read 1203 times)