Dream a Little Dream Act For Me
Filed Under (Immigration and Society) by Joe on December 2, 2010
Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) re-introduced the much-deferred Dream Act into the Senate again on Tuesday, setting the stage for its potential passage before the Senate adjourns for the winter holidays. The new version of the Dream Act has several components designed to appeal to Republicans, including the exclusion of applicants with one felony or three misdemeanor convictions, a cut-off age of 30 as of the date the law is enacted, a good moral character requirement extending back to the date the applicant first entered the U.S., and, perhaps most distastefully, a 10-year conditional nonimmigrant status, followed by three years of permanent residence before applicants can apply for U.S. citizenship. 10 years? Even though most of these students will be ready for social security by the time they’re eligible for naturalization, this is a much better deal than they’re likely to get anywhere else in today’s political climate. I say go for it - despite all these compromises, the revised Dream Act is a great way for the most sympathetic of the nation’s undocumented immigrants to gain legal status and eventually become U.S. citizens. Although I’d prefer that our immigration system not be a patchwork of laws, with one problem fixed here, another fixed there, I’ll take what I can get, when I can get it, for the time being.
Alexander7 on 20 Jul 2011 at 11:50 am #