The government, more than ever before, seems to have forgetten who they work for. Politicians seem to be controlled not by those who vote for them, but by those who pay their bills. One of the areas where this seems most true is immigration.
The Development, Relief and Education of Alien Minors Act, usually called the DREAM act, is one such bill that looks doomed, even though it is a common sense bill designed to help our country.
The DREAM act is a law created to help minors that are illegal to get on the path toward citizenship, and it has been on the table in congress since 2001. Qualifying for the DREAM act is not as easy as the meadia whoud have you believe. One must have arrived in the United States before the age of 15, already have a high school diploma, have resided in the U.S. for at least 5 years, and be below the age of 29.
If a person qualifies for all of the above, they must then go to community college for 2 years, or join the military. This is only after a series of tests designed to determine moral character, including extensive criminal background checks.
There are additional safeguards in place which would not allow conditional citizens under the DREAM act to collect social security or to take advantage of Medicaid. They also can't sponsor kids or parents for at least 12 years. This phenomena, called "chain migration", would be severly limited by the DREAM act.
So, media hysteria aside, the DREAM act would be a good thing for our country. It has been determined that it would actually save the U.S. money in the long run, about $1.5 billion over the next ten years. Also, the military would benefit by getting a huge influx of members. While not a complete fix for our ongoing immigration problem, the DREAM act surely cannot hurt the situation. Those who are against this act do not even realize what it would do for the United States.