By Cynthia Felix
May 12, 2010

It is a sad fact that thousands of students drop out of higher education due to their citizenship status, victims of their parent's decision to come to this nation illegally. These young people grew up in the United States and graduated from our high schools, but their future is circumscribed by our current immigration laws.

The bipartisan DREAM Act is designed to help these individuals continue their education--thus securing the future of our country. The Act provides conditional permanent residency for six years to those seeking a degree of higher education in the U.S.[1]

Ultimately, the best investments we can make are in education. The disparities in educational opportunities are startling. In 2007, a mere 13.4% of Hispanics age 25 years and older had received a bachelor's degree or higher, compared to 30.6% of comparable non-Hispanic whites.

Undocumented persons make up a great percentage of our schools and workforce and are responsible for the growth and prosperity of our country. When these individuals are denied access to the American Dream, taxpayers must then support them through welfare and other programs.

Since 2001 the DREAM Act has continued to attract bipartisan support from Senators such as Richard Lugar (R-IN) and Mel Martinez (R-FL), as well as the House and the Senate leadership, and from President Obama.[2] To become law, the DREAM Act should not be considered “amnesty”; instead we should regard it as a way for hard-working students to earn legal status and continue to contribute to our country. With midterm elections approaching, many Republicans have realized that in order to gain more Latino support, it is crucial to alter their stance on the topic.

By enacting the DREAM Act, Congress, in a bipartisan fashion, would legally recognize a long-standing truth: these young people belong here.
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[1] Zamora, Peter. 2008 Hispanic Public Policy Agenda. National Hispanic Leadership Agenda.
[2] http://www.nilc.org/immlawpolicy/dream/dream-basicinfo-2009-03-30.pdf