Illegals Get All the Breaks

The DREAM Act was just reintroduced in the House and Senate…again. First time was in 2001 and last time was in 2007, when its passage fell short by just a handful of votes. And again this bill, which is essentially about a "path to citizenship" for youth who were brought to the U.S. as children, has broad bipartisan support--introduced by Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Richard Lugar (R-IN) and Representatives Howard Berman (D-CA), Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL) and Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA)along with many others who have been pushing for the legislation for years. The 2007 round led to quite a debate, much about the in-state tuition portion of the act, the implications of which are captured well here at MPI. Debate will be heated this year too, again with many "no" votes driven by fear and anger that the bill gives illegals a better deal than real Americans. But as suggested here, this legislation isn’t only the right thing to do for children who are undocumented by no fault of their own but it is frankly the smarter approach for a nation that invests in these kids for their entire elementary and secondary school education (by law). Why give up on them, and this incredibly expensive investment, once they’ve successfully completed high school? To do so is inconsistent, illogical and economically irresponsible. And to think they might "go home" is just silly.