Unfortunately, because of their status as "undocumented aliens" college is but a dream for most. The Dream Act, if passed, would change all that, opening the doors of higher education to countless deserving young people, who are part of the fabric of our nation.
A no-brainer, right? Yet passage of the act fails, and fails. And fails. The current version of The Dream Act is now in Congress. Get active for the sake of our young people, and for our collective future.
Why is this so difficult to pass? Once again I shake my head at "we the people." Maybe America, or the America I believe in, is just a myth. Why would we turn our backs on young people who want to better themselves and contribute?
A poem, from the lens of such a young person, Sylvia Rodriguez (who by the way is Harvard-bound), is posted on Dream Activist. Read it. An excerpt is below:
Decriminalize
Stop ignoring me. I know that you do it so easily
But please try to see me.
I’m the problem you try to hide.
I’m the child left behind.
I’m the anger in this state
I’m the hope that is ingrained.
I’m the angry youth, which is your future.
Whose hopes and dreams you try to butcher.
I, brought by desperate mother and alcoholic father.
Born in the so-called “wrong side.”
Why do you hate me and call me illegal?
Why? Do you feel scared?
I think you do.
Scared of me of my color or my people?
Or of my potential?
I don’t think you’ve realized
That even if you don’t sympathize,
I will not agonize,
And there is no need to debate,
Because my dreams are much larger than your hate...
Related links:
Dream Act 2009
By the Time I Get to Arizona 2010
I have been following the Dream Act for years. It was an intricate part of my defense in my graduate studies. I can understand both sides of the argument. In one instance you are allowing a benefit (not education itself but financial aid) to the products of those who have broken the law. Students are recipients of a benefit funded by tax payers when they themselves or their parents do not contribute to that fund.
ReplyDeleteOn the other side, "we the people" are penalizing young people based on their parents' actions. With the exception of Native Americans, we are all illegal. Some stolen and placed here, many of their own free will. Speaking from experince, I believe there is no time when the majority should be allowed to decide the fate or right of the minority.
Ti -- GREAT comment! Thank you for adding this! And you reference my favorite quote about why we have a bill of rights: "To protect the rights of the minority from the tyranny of the majority." It completely applies to the Dream Act.
ReplyDelete