Here are some concerns I have with recent legislation. The DREAM act was recently shot down by congress by a close 52-44 vote, a mere 8 votes away from the 60 needed for it pass. (You can read about this and the DREAM act itself here http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/20816.html) The bill has been advertised by many as a bill promoting amnesty to young immigrants. It would provide immigrants who graduate high school to gain citizenship in one of two ways: 1)through completing two years of college and 2) through serving in the US military. The bill, if passed, could hypothetically provide US citizenship for around 1,000,000 currently illegal immigrants. We're talking about a lot of people being affected by this bill.
The Migration Policy Institute, a non-partisan immigration think tank, has estimated the Dream Act would allow about 279,000 currently undocumented residents to attend college or join the military. About 715,000 illegal immigrants between the ages of 5 and 17 who are now in the country would become eligible, according to the research group. ~ The Chicago Tribune
Now, here is where this post gets sketchy. I'm about to share some of my opinions on this matter. Let me preface them by suggesting that this is a highly complex issue. I am also not a US immigrant, and I am coming from y own particular background. I am in complete support of a bill that promotes amnesty. If it were up to me, I would promote unconditional amnesty. God clearly commands that we are to treat the alien with respect, dignity and love. He constantly reminds the Israelites to be kind to aliens because they were aliens in Egypt. I think this ethic continues into the New Testament. When a legislation makes it easier for aliens to enter a country illegally, there is not a problem with immigration, there is a problem with legislation. I agree that immigration policy needs reformation. I do not think, however, that the DREAM act is the great giver of freedom that it claims to be.
The US is in the midst of wars in the Middle East that have our resources and military personnel stretched. In the midst of this, US secretary of defense Robert gates just recently announced a 2.63 Billion dollar military expansion project. The plan is to add an additional 74,000 individuals to the US military by 2010. Where will these recruits come from? Some argue that they will come by increasing incentives for those already in the military. The sad reality is, however, that the military already targets poor minority men. There is no doubt in my mind that his practice will continue. If the DREAM act had been passed, approximately 1,000,000 would have been eligible for CONDITIONAL US citizenship through military service. Many of these immigrents would have been forced to serve in the US military's unjust wars in order to gain citizenship. Many of them would have died serving a country which they were not even citizens of. Sound familiar? Thats because we did this to blacks during the civil war and the revolutionary war...
The shame in all of this is that those immigrants heading to college have been denied citizenship as well. If the DREAM act had been reworked in order to allow unconditional citizenship, I would be in full support. Granting citizenship through college is better than no citizenship at all. Granting citizenship only after military service is modern slavery and demonstrates our hatred toward immigrants.
