Approximately 2.8 million students graduate from U.S. high schools each year and go on to pursue the path in life they wish. Many go on to college; others choose to work or join the military. However, thousands of students who were brought to the U.S. as children hit roadblocks to pursuing their dreams upon graduating from high school because they bear the inherited title of undocumented immigrant--a title which causes them to face unique barriers to higher education and renders them be unable to work legally in the U.S. or serve in the military.
The solution: the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, legislation that would correct this flaw in our immigration laws that currently provide no path to legal status for young people who were brought to the U.S. years ago as undocumented immigrant children, even if they have spent most of their lives here and have stayed in school and out of trouble. In 2007, the DREAM Act was voted down by the Senate, squashing the dreams of thousands of deserving young people.
Yesterday, the DREAM came alive again, as S.729 and H.R.1751--the new DREAM Act--was introduced to Congress. Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Richard Lugar (R-IN) introduced the bipartisan legislation in the U.S. Senate, while Representatives Howard Berman (D-CA) and Lincoln Diaz-Balart (D-FL) introduced it in the House of Representatives.
If passed, this bill would facilitate access to college for immigrant students in the U.S. by restoring states' rights to offer in-state tuition to immigrant students residing in their state. It would provide a path to citizenship for hardworking immigrant youth who entered the country more than five years ago (while they were under the age of 16) and who complete two years of college or two years of military service. Change to Win chair and SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger released a statement as the legislation was introduced yesterday:
"Since the beginning, America has always believed that if you work hard, dedicate yourself and give back to your community, you can achieve just about anything regardless of your family background. From the day our forbearers threw off the yoke of empire, to the dream of building a more perfect union or putting a man on the moon, we would not be the same nation if we had continued to hold people back based on skin color or religion, gender or national origin, or the past actions of their parents.[...] "We have a choice: free these young people to realize their full potential so that they can contribute all of their talent to the future we will all share, or keep them in a place of uncertainty full of fear and lost opportunities. Among these students are countless future nurses, leaders, teachers, military heroes and inventors of the next great technological or medical breakthrough, people we can't afford to hold back. SEIU's 2 million members strongly support this bi-partisan legislation because it reinforces what America has always stood for - if you work hard you can make a difference and make the world a better place."
Read SEIU's entire statement on the introduction of the DREAM Act here.
