DREAM Act offers education opportunities to immigrants

Last November, Arizonans voted yes on Prop 300, a bill that cracks down on illegal immigrants by denying, among other things, in-state tuition prices to all students who entered this country unlawfully.

Although in many cases it was the students' parents, not the students themselves, who broke the law and snuck into the United States, it is the students who now pay the price. No longer eligible for financial aid, many illegal students are facing the harsh reality that they may not be able to receive an education in the United States.

Yes, it's a very sad story for illegal immigrants. I don't want to downplay what many of them must be going through. Many of them were brought into this country as children, with no say in the matter, and have since spent their lives here, and many of them now think of the United States as their home.

But forget, for a moment, the plight of illegal immigrants, and try instead to think of the hundreds of young adults who are citizens of this country who also come from impoverished backgrounds. Students who have, in many cases, worked just as long and just as hard to achieve success in school. These same students may have lost out on the same education opportunities that had, until recently, been available to illegal immigrants.

Again, I don't mean to imply that illegal immigrants are somehow less deserving of a chance at education; but the fact of the matter, is it's rough all over. How can someone justify bumping a natural-born citizen of this country to the back of the line to make room for someone who's not even legally supposed to be here? You can cry "racism" all you want, but citizens of our country deserve the state's attention and assistance instead of illegal immigrants.

Despite my opinions on Prop 300, however, I still agree that something needs to be done to help the many students who have been negatively affected by it. The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act (or DREAM Act) is a bi-partisan bill that, if passed, would pave the road to citizenship for many illegal students. So that as long as the students meet several criteria (i.e. they were brought to this country before the age of 16, they graduated high school, and have lived here for at least five consecuitve years), they will be granted a temporary citizenship in the United States, which they must then use to attain an education, or serve a minimum of two years in active military. service If the student completes either his education or his military service, he will then be granted permanent legal citizenship in the United States.

In this time of "mud-slinging" politics, it's rare to see a bill that both sides agree on, but the DREAM Act has received an incredible amount of support from both political parties. Yes, it's true that the DREAM Act will not help everyone, but then there is really no legislation we could pass that could achieve that. Instead, the DREAM Act will help a large portion of dedicated, hard-working students, helping them to attain both an education and citizenship in the United States.

And best of all, it does all this without taking away the same opportunity for education from U.S. citizens. It really is a DREAM come true.