Thoughts on the DREAM Act from "the other side"

                One of my Facebook friends has recently been posting about something called the DREAM Act, urging people to call their representatives to ask them to pass this proposed piece of legislation. Having been out of the States for a while and not being one to follow politics too closely in the first place, I had never heard of the Act before, and therefore didn’t pay much attention to her posts. She kept posting, however, and I finally clicked on the link in her ~17^th post just to see what the Act was all about. This is what I learned…

                The title of the act, first of all, is an acronym for Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors, and it is intended to aid illegal immigrants who were under the age of 18 when they arrived in the States, usually brought there by their parents. Many of these minors have lived and been educated in the U.S. for several years, and some may have immigrated at so young an age that they do not even remember their “native” country and may not speak that country’s language. Current law states that these minors have a right to education through high school; the problem, though, is what to do after high school. I’m kind of going from vague memory and common sense here, but I think it would be pretty hard for illegal immigrants to get federal loans to attend college, if colleges would even be able to accept them, and I’m guessing that enlisting in the military would be impossible. So basically that leaves young illegal immigrants, who may very well have been outstanding students in high school, no option for further education (or military service if that’s what you really want to do). As is well known, one cannot get very far on a high school degree in America, and therefore the current system leads to a cycle of poverty and dependency, which is unnecessary given that many of these minors would probably choose to further their education if they were allowed.

                Anyway, so what the DREAM Act would do is allow these immigrants (the ones who were brought to the states as minors) the opportunity to apply for “conditional permanent residency” if they complete 2 years of college or serve two years in the military. The “immigrants” must also show proof that they were brought to the U.S. when they were under the age of 18, that they have lived in the U.S. for at least 5 years, and that they are of “good moral character”, which is a legal term basically meaning that they don’t have a criminal record. After 13 years, they could apply for citizenship.

                Even as I’m writing this entry, my mind keeps going back and forth on how I feel about this act, and about the issue of illegal immigration all together. So I’m going to divide the next section into one of my favorite decision-making tools: a pro and con chart, starting with cons.

Cons of the DREAM Act (in my opinion):

-          It may encourage future illegal immigration, especially that of children, which is bad because:

a)                         Illegal immigration is dangerous. I have been (twice) to the Sonoran Desert in southern Arizona, where illegal immigrants from Latin America often choose to make their crossing into the states. I was there in early spring, and it was already hot – summer temperatures there, from what I’ve heard, are nothing to mess with. Secondly, there are huge, uninhabited swaths of desert, which are generally chosen for crossing since that means less people to turn you into Border Patrol, but that also means that there is nowhere to buy water, and dehydration can (and often does, especially for children) mean death. Even if one does not choose to cross through the desert, perhaps choosing instead (if they have the option) to pay a coyote to somehow drive them over the border, there is still no way to know whether the coyote is trustworthy, or whether this alternate path is safe.

b)                         I almost hate to put this is writing because I don’t want people to associate me with a certain political category that tends to argue this point (*cough* Republicans *cough*), but illegal immigration puts a strain on our economy, and we happen to be in a recession at the moment. As a disclaimer, I’d like to state that I realize that I could be wrong about this, and in fact I wrote a research paper in high school arguing exactly the opposite point – that illegal immigrants are good for the economy, since they take jobs that “no one else wants”, and they work for under minimum wage which is also somehow good economically. But with unemployment being so high right now, it’s hard for me to believe that there are jobs SO horrible that absolutely no American citizen would be willing to take them. Again, clearly that’s arguable. Also, illegal immigrants don’t pay taxes, although again, I assume that they are ineligible to reap many of the benefits of taxes: food stamps, welfare, etc. But, they do use some resources (schools, roads, etc.). I realize that the strain put on the system by the use of these resources probably isn’t that large when you look at the big picture, but I don’t think you can completely exclude this point.

-          Related to the above point is the fact that once the said immigrants arrive to America, life may not, in fact, be so good. Jobs are especially hard to find right now, and if one came all the way to the U.S. (an expensive trip, with the coyote-paying and all – most Guatemalans I know of have paid tens of thousands of DOLLARS to get smuggled in) it would be a shame to be out all that money for no reason. Also, there is no guarantee that one will make it to the States. On my first trip to Arizona, I saw a group of about 10-15 immigrants, many of them children equipped with small, colorful backpacks, being loaded into the back of a Border Patrol van to be deported, only miles after crossing the border. I’m pretty sure that coyotes don’t issue refunds.

-          Many immigrants come without their children which leads a slew of developmental problems for the left-behind kids, but since this is about the DREAM Act, then I’ll talk about the negative consequences of this to the children who do get brought along. For one, being unemployed or working for less than the minimum wage leads to a life of poverty for the immigrant and his/her family, although I’ll grant that this poverty may still come with more opportunities than a given immigrant child would have had in their own country. I assume that illegal immigrants aren’t eligible for health insurance, and although everyone must be offered emergency services, other potential health issues would be a huge financial problem and might just get ignored. (Again, I realize the health situation in the “home country” night not be that much better.) Also, many families immigrate alone, meaning that the child would grow up without the presence of an extended family, although again, the absence of a grandmother might be outweighed by the “benefits” of living in America (which again, however, are basically limited to getting a high school degree and working for inadequate wages).

-          I just want to point out that the argument that “illegal immigration is wrong because it’s illegal” is NOT anywhere in my thinking. Black people sitting in the front of busses used to be against the law. Gays aren’t legally allowed to openly serve in the military. The fact of something being illegal doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s actually wrong.

The Sonoran Desert

Pros of the DREAM Act:

-          The human angle – it’s not the kids’ faults that their parents decided to bring them to the U.S. They didn’t have a say in the matter, and therefore, in my opinion, they shouldn’t have to suffer a lifetime of punishment. Yes, a lifetime. Not having a college degree in America, especially when you have the ability and the desire to get one, is punishment, economically and emotionally, for the youth in question and their future children.

-          The benefits to America – More people with college degrees means a better economy (again, I wasn’t an econ major, but isn’t this common sense?). Also, we’ve been having a tough time getting military enlistment up to the numbers we “need” (to “fight terrorists and spread democracy”, but that’s another issue), and I for one am not jumping to have the draft system reinstated. Why not let people who actually want to serve go ahead and enlist?

Anyway, so that’s what I can think of. Also, the size of the pro and con lists are irrelevant to how I feel about the Act – I actually think I mostly support it (see “the human angle” above).

The Act was passed by the House of Representatives last week, and will be passed to the Senate sometime this week. It’s unclear whether or not Senate will pass the Act.

Also, I just wanted to add a quick, related anecdote from this week. (Can you tell I have a lot of free time today?) Yesterday, I visited a nearby city to buy a printer (No more going to San Pedro and paying $.12 to print things!) and as I got in my micro to go back home, there was a man talking to the passengers, asking for money. This happens quite frequently, especially at this bus terminal, so I tuned him out at first, until he mentioned that he was from California. He happened to notice me at this moment and started talking to me in perfect English, explaining that he had lived in California for 17 years and had just gotten deported. His story, which may have been partially or completely fabricated (although I am inclined to believe that it contains more truth than lies) is that he was an anthropology professor at UC Davis (or some school in California), was sent by this school to Japan to talk about Mayan culture (this detail added for credibility – he also had paperwork from the university to back his story), has a three-year-old daughter, and didn’t have any money to get to Huehuetenango, where his family is from. I gave him 5Q - only the second time I have given someone money on a bus - and thought about his story the whole way home.

If this guy’s story was true, then I would guess that he arrived in the States when he was under 18 - he looked pretty young. This means that more than half of his life was spent in the U.S., and probably most of the people with which he has meaningful personal relationships also live in the States. His daughter is there, his house is there, and his (prestigious, I might add, if he really was a professor) job is there. Then one day he was told that he couldn’t have any of that anymore, that he wasn’t even allowed to come back to visit (I assume) – he just had to suddenly leave his life behind him and start over, because he (or his parents) broke the law 17 years ago. I tried to imagine being told that I had to leave my life in America (granted, I kinda did leave my life in America, but only temporarily!) and found that it was too heavy a subject for me to think about while sitting in a micro. Even not knowing what side of the illegal immigration issue I stand on, I do know that situations like these are hard, and stories like these are what everyone (I would hope) wants to prevent.