By snoadmin
With the DREAM Act pending cloture in the upcoming lame duck session of Congress, we must consider both the positive and negative aspects of the DREAM Act.
If you’re knowledgeable of current events is up to par then you may be somewhat familiar with the DREAM Act. For those of you who picked up a newspapers as a mere attempt to kill time, the DREAM Act, if passed by Congress, will allow for qualified illegal immigrants to achieve citizenship status on the basis that they either enlist in the military or enroll at an institution of higher education and have “good moral character.”
While the thought of a form of amnesty may be off putting to some, immigrants, like Cal State University Fresno’s student body president Pedro Ramirez, must be taken into account.
Having been brought into the United States at the age of three by his family from Jalisco, Mexico, Ramirez was not aware of his illegal status until he notified his parents of his desire to register for the military, after which his parents were obliged to admit to Ramirez that he was, in fact, an undocumented citizen. He managed to keep this information a secret for several years, until CSU Fresno’s student newspaper, The Collegian, received an anonymous e-mail stating that Ramirez is an illegal immigrant. The Collegian released an article shortly after.
Ramirez is a prominent student, having earned the position of student body president, while pursuing a degree in both political science and agricultural economics. Ramirez, however, told Fresno State administrators about his undocumented status this past summer, after he was elected student body president. The administrators encouraged Ramirez to carry out his position as president voluntarily, as it would be illegal for him to receive pay from the government. Ramirez agreed.
According to a Washington Post article, Ramirez remains a very dedicated and driven student body president, regardless of his voluntary standing.
Ramirez serves as an example of why the DREAM Act should be passed. Of course not all undocumented immigrants are like Ramirez. However, in order to provide documentation to ambitious immigrants like Ramirez, we must make certain that we support legislation that paves the way for undocumented student immigrants to become citizens.
The DREAM Act would not only assist illegal immigrants in becoming a legitimate contribution to our country, but it would also benefit us in that more citizens, or soon-to-be-citizens, would invest their time in either the military or college.
If Congress does approve the DREAM Act in the upcoming lame duck session, it will decrease cultural difference among immigrants and United States citizens. By earning citizenship, illegal immigrants will familiarize themselves more with US customs and culture, including the English language, as it should be. Eradicating the hindering differences between United State citizens and illegal immigrants will allow a way for an increase in uniformity, alliance and respect between the two, as illegal immigrants will have earned their citizenship rather than staying in America illegally.
After all, “united we stand.”
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