This week, we will focus on current immigration policy reform, such as the federal and California DREAM (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors) Act. You have 4 readings for this week, two of which are examples of how the DREAM Act can prevent undocumented youth from being deported, and the other two discuss the implications of the DREAM Act.
1. Former undocumented immigrants tell stories from the Heartland
2. San Francisco student deportation to Peru on hold
3. California DREAM Act
4. Federal DREAM Act
Questions to think about in your response:
-What do you think should happen to undocumented youth, who were brought over to the United States by their parents when they were young? Should they be deported because they are not here legally, or should they be allowed to stay?
-What are advantages and disadvantages that you can identify in the DREAM Act?
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I don't think there is any doubt that our immigration system needs reform; the only real debate left is how to go about this long awaited and much needed reform. As the first two readings exemplified, some people who originally came to America are doing well for themselves and are contributing positively to society. In my opinion, it is unfair for someone who came to the US illegally at a very young age to face deportation. In the case of Steve Li, I do not think he should be punished for a decision that he was not fully capable of making on his own-it was not his choice to come to America, and it isn't just for him to face deportation when he has lived here for a majority of his life. I think the DREAM Act is a step in the proper direction. However, I think that a bill such as this one should be applied at the federal level. State reform would be progress, but unless the change is widespread and uniform I don't think it will be a true change to the system.
That last post that says Herin was actually from me, Krista. My friend was using my computer and I didn't realize her Gmail was still logged on. Sorry!
I think that everyone should be granted amnesty. These children had no say in whether or not they wanted to come to the United States. This means that they should be punished for their parents bringing them into the United States illegally. They should be allowed to stay, because once they are in the United States, they become a part of American society. If you have lived her your whole life, you should be entitled to the same rights as all other Americans. If you are already in the United States and are a law abiding citizen, you should be given the chance to become a citizen.
Anonymous is me :)
These past 2 comments are from me Leila :)
I think that first of all there should be an actual plan or method of action to at least begin to approach the issue. I feel like undocumented youth are so severely neglected and forgottten about, and that the U.S. hasn't even gotten close to drafting anything close to a type of resolution to accommodating the thousands of immigrant youth in our country. At the moment, they are comfortable giving them no opportunities, extremely limited agency in obtaining citizenship, and the opt out to wait for their deportation or a trial in juvenile hall/jail/holding center until they are so sick and disgusted by the immigration system that they request voluntary deportation. There is just absolutely no plan of action in serving this population of youth.
However, I do believe that AB540 and the DREAM Act are a step in the right direction. They give undocumented youth a hope that their glass ceiling will be extended past dish washer or other blue collar job. Both laws make college a possibility--a relatively small one all things considered (tuition, resources in applying, etc.)--but an attainable reality. The DREAM Act represents the first forward action towards acknowledging that there is a massive population in the U.S., and attempting to serve it, or at the very least, understand it.
Lastly, I do think the DREAM Act is limiting in that to qualify you must have been in the U.S. 3 years prior to its creation. That means that it really only has the potential to help a certain generation of students and will not constitute a true piece of policy. This is because within a few years it will no longer apply because people will have arrived in the U.S. too late.
- Hannah Squirrel Bichkoff
Current immigration laws do not consider the fact that many youth who are in the United States were brought by their parents at a very young age, not giving them a chance to actually decide whether or not they wanted to come here. Their parents made the decision on the basis of providing them with a better education and a future different from their own. However, I don’t think that they thought about the difficulties that their children might be facing like they are now and not being able to become US citizens. I think it is unfair to reject undocumented minor immigrants the opportunity for legalization after they have been an integral part of our society. Many see them as a burden to society, but this is because they are not given the opportunities that they deserve simply because they are not US citizens. Our country stands for this idea of being humanitarian and helping people who are facing human rights violations in other countries, when in reality we are facing huge issues of human rights violations domestically, because after all denying minors (or students who have been here for most of their life) citizenship is a violation within itself.
Many undocumented minors have been here their entire life because if they were to leave they wouldn’t be able to come back. Meaning that their home is America and they probably do not know very much about the culture from which they were born in. In order to qualify for citizenship under the dream act a person must have attended and graduated from a California high school, showing that they have been here for a long time already. I know many undocumented students who have graduated high school and are attending college who can’t really identify with their parent’s culture because they have been in the US for their entire lives. If students already have AB540 status, then we definitely need the DREAM Act. Undocumented students become unmotivated when they realize that once they graduate from college they might not even be able to get a job because they are still not citizens. Yes, AB540 status provides students with a way to attend college as a California resident, but it needs backing from the DREAM Act to make those college graduates more integrated into our society.
Hold on now, "Must have been present in the United States for at least five (5) consecutive years prior to enactment of the bill" ....? What happens if a kid goes starts high school now? Will he or she be able to apply when starting college?
Obviously (well, to me anyway) youth that were brought to the US illegally and grew up here should not be deported, especially if they do not have close family back in their country of birth. For a lot of immigrant children, their country of birth is just as foreign to them as it is to any 'joe shmoe' whose college won't allow trips to their neighboring country.
Every child that is growing up here and calls America their home (whether by choice or not) should be seen with the utmost potential, just like any other US born person. These kids are going to be part of our society regardless of their status; however, their potential to give back to the US -- and the world--will be severely limited by how WE and our GOVERNMENT label them.
I get so fucking pissed off when people say, "Blah blah, blah, our state is in debt, blah, blah, blah, we don't have the money to give them financial aid, blah blah --" BULL.SHIT.
These kids are going to stay here. They are going to work here and they are going to have a family here. So what do we want, a population of uneducated youth? Absolutely not. You have to be crazy to want that, especially in 'this economy,' whatever the hell that means, as if the economy all of the sudden changes the inherent value that people have.
I am just going to stop now.....
In my opinion, undocumented youth brought to the US when they were young should be allowed to stay in the United States since they are not at fault for their parent’s decision of bringing them here ‘illegally’. Most of the undocumented youth have been here since such young ages that in some cases don’t even feel a connection to their home country. They grow up to be like any other typical American, fully assimilated into mainstream American culture. The only difference is that they don’t have papers.
Although the DREAM Act is a step forward towards immigration reform and providing a way to attain legalization for undocumented youth, there are still some disadvantages to the Act.
For example, if the Dream Act is passed, and undocumented youth who meet the requirement of hacing satisified 2 years of college education, they still have to wait 5 ½ years in order to apply for the the legal residency. So the act doesn’t provide a direct and fast way to legalization. Students attaining a bachelors, would have to wait not going to graduate school or even working (since they don’t have a social security) until the 5 ½ years are up to begin applying.
Overall, it is a good act that needs to be passed at the federal level in order to move forward with dealing with the undocumented population living in the shadows of this country.
Viva Peru! That second article really resonated with me as Steve really did become a kind of national celebrity. To think that he has no family left in Peru just goes to show that borders are nothing BUT man made architectural structure, it has absolutely no translation into matters of identity. There is a quote I forget by who that when the town you were born in no longer makes you happy, move, and then there is the infatuation with a life you were not born into. I find that this infatuation, which I sometimes get with India (don't ask me why)means that that's the world telling me, there is a comfortable environment where I will feel at home. With this understanding of home in mind, I think it obvious that people who are attracted to a place should be allowed to live there. I am not saying that most immigrants are coming with this idea in mind. The ones that do have a real connection to the land, why would they deport them away from the identity groundwork they have made ?!
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