The DREAM Act Might Be Dead, But These Kids' Hopes Are Not

What part of illegal do you not understand? I know many people who have entered this country LEGALLY and they also resent those who bypass the "system". These are people from countries that are devastated by WAR and yet they choose to follow our laws.

I will follow DREAM Act, hopefully our lawmakers will do the right thing.

The DREAM Act is a wonderful piece of legislation. It gives this students an opportunity to continue their education. Many were brought to this country at a very young age and are American in every sense of the word, as they have known no other land. Hopefully after the November elections the Senate will have enough votes to move this forward!

These young people deserve a chance to succeed in the United States. They cannot be held responsible for the actions of their parents. They do well in school, stay out of trouble, and strive to better themselves. They are exactly what this country needs! There are American citizens who don't even come close to having the same achievements as the people in the article.

When I was going to school it was hard to get scholarship because I was not QUALIFIED. I Had grades beyond what others who did QUALIFY for scholarships ever had in their college lives. It is injust to people who are trying to better themselves and make a difference be shutdown just because the system cannot support them. Many people take things as Financial Aid for granted, it will only be right to give them the opportunity to live better lives and start a trend of success for their families. We have to remmember that many immigrants before our time did not have an education, they were given that opportunity as time progressed, and are now the same ones who forgot their parents struggles to educate themselves through time. People against this Act are more than likely descendants of those who like these kids, once were their ancestors, time do change, at the expense of others it seems. Good thing I manage to get my school paid for with an Athletic scholarship...made me the person I am today, now a grad student, good luck to any immigrant who despite their luck, can be persistant in their quest, education is the only way to fight ignorance!

Thanks for a wonderful profile of DREAM Act kids. I wish our elected officials would realize the waste of talent, determination and diversity that every day without relief for these young people brings.

Some people are so blinded by the "rule of law" that they have lost sight of the difference between right and wrong. It is wrong to penalize these young people for something they had no control over. They sound exactly like the type of immigrants this country should be striving to attract. Passing the Dream Act is the right thing to do, for them and for America.

This is a matter of right and wrong. It is wrong to hold these youngsters responsible for something they had no control over. They sound exactly like the type of immigrants we would want to bring to this country. The Dream Act is the right thng to do.

I think the DREAM act is a good thing. In a perfect world, and if our immigration system were fair and rational, perhaps it would be fair to consider students' immigration status. However, that's not where we are.

For many people there is essentially no legal way to get here. Barb mentions "WAR" -- what do you think brought the Central Americans here? Civil wars and their aftermath are a major cause of undocumented migration. Many of these wars were actually US proxy wars, fought in other people's backyards. NAFTA and CAFTA, and the associated economic deregulations, have also had a major role in dislodging people from their work. US policies in other countries have had been major causes of the flight of economic refugees.

No way should we be blaming the kids. I know young people who were literally carried across the border in their parents' arms -- they had no role in the decision to come here.

Ignorance is a social evil, and should be combatted in all possible ways. Leaving a generation of young people frustrated, resentful, and with noplace to go will not lead to any good. Knowing that they can't go to college leads many to drop out of high school, putting them on an even shorter dead end ... It's far better to let these kids study and become productive, committed members of society.

We had a 2-tier labor system, remember? We haven't entirely healed from the time of slavery. We keep sliding back toward that brink. Let's not. There's a better way, and we've known it for a long time.

This is a matter of right and wrong. It is wrong to punish these kids for something they had no control of. They sound exactly like the kind of immigrants we would want in this country. They will make fine Americans. The Dream Act is the right thing to do.

Well here's the good news .....the entire public university system of the National Autonomous University of Mexico is FREE to Mexican nationals like the students highlighted in this article...in fact they have had every right and opportunity to pursue a college education in at world-class universities in Mexico since day one. The DREAM ACT is a ruse to grant immigration benefits to young adults so that once they become 21 they then can bring in the rest of their illegal alien family members and through chain migration sponsor an unlimited number of family members that aren't even in the States yet. These "students" have an opportunity to pursue their DREAMS in their home nation of Mexico and for free....something even American college students do not have....these kids should be grateful that they were not deported before they got the chance to take advantage of a free public K-12 education, free medical and other benefits subsidized by American citizens and taxpayers. I don't hear a word of gratitude for that. Given their Englsh language skills, their American high school diploma....they'd be very highly regarded students and potential career track employees in MEXICO. Why doesn't the Mexican consulate inform the illegal alien students from Mexico about the low-cost, free opportunities to study in Mexico? How come the Mexican Consulates aren't advising these students in the middle schools and high schools about continuing their education in Mexico?

I am so sick and tired of the "It's not our fault our parents brought us here" excuse. If you are going to college, that means you are 18 yrs old. And under US law, that means you are an adult. As an adult, you are responsible for your own actions now, and cannot blame your parents anymore. So you can't use that excuse anymore. This is getting really old and boring. Why don't you DREAMERS just tell us the truth instead of hiding behind the "You can't punish us for our parents' sins" excuse?? Americans are NOT STUPID. Just admit it and publicly say: "I am illegally here and I don't want to be deported." Period. Just say it like it is. Don't give us all your smokescreen 4.0 GPA, "I just want to be a doctor" crap. We are not buying it, ok??? Just be honest and say it like it is! Don't confuse the public with your SOB stories. Americans are not stupid. And you are stupid to think that we are. Match set. Game over. Go home and get over yourselves.

OK, Legalatina. Let's work this through. This UNAM theory of yours.

Let's say my name is Maria, I came from Guerrero 17 years ago, bringing an infant who has now graduated from high school in the US.

Yes, the young person could now go home (to live where? with whom?) and study. If we have family living near a university branch, the kid could go there. If I'm able to send money home to support other family, then I could support my child as well. Let's be clear that this is not always true -- some folks have no relatives back "home," and many migrants come from rural areas where there are very few schools.

If I'm an educated person and have succeeded in keeping my family Spanish literate, the kid may actually have the qualifications to start university. However, if my child has been in a mainly-English program in a typical US school system, they may well not have adequate Spanish to manage a university program. (I actually have an advanced degree and do research in Spanish, but my writing skills are probably not up to standard for Mexican university work.)

If DREAM passes and my kid turns 18, gets residency as a result of going to university in the US or doing military service, yes, they'd be able to petition for me. Does that mean I'd get instant residency? I don't think so.

People who've come in without papers can only do what's called consular processing. They have to go back to their home country to file their papers.

People who have worked for more than a year without papers, if they leave the country, are barred from re-entry for 10 years. So if my kid petitions for me and I go home to Guerrero to file my papers, I'm south of the border for a minimum of 10 years -- and I can't re-enter legally unless I present proof of having been outside the US for the whole time. I'll be expected to present rent receipts, tax returns, letters of employment, the whole shebang. Even if the visa line for my class of people is shorter than ten years -- and it isn't necessarily.

If I have younger children to take care of, it may well be several years before I'm even willing to leave to file -- depending upon how dangerous and/or deprived my home area may be.

The vision of "anchor babies" creating a tidal wave of family immigration is really exaggerated.

What's wrong is for these illegal aliens to be here. Secondly, they can't legally get a job anywhere in America. They are wasteing their time going to school.

Nice how they talk about cheating the system using fake ID(stolen ID). Not the kind of nationals I want on a path to citizenship. Erika is not a student, she's a criminal.

Things are changing and Dreamers should start accepting, they are going to have to leave. Forget the education, start packing. That or wait until the ICE man gets them.

Illegal aliens should go to their consulate and get papers to attend school/college in their homeland.

Deportation is their future, not the DREAM.

LegalLatina and Ex-OC are completely right about these kids. Once these people turn 18, they are adults and that same day their illegal presence in this country begins to count against them and they are legally criminals for being here illegally and for not leaving.

They can just go back to their country and get in line like the immigrants do and wait their turn in line like immigrants do.

People who are illegally in this country are NOT immigrants, they are ILLEGAL ALIENS. Immigrants come to this country legally to live permanently and have papers and legal status and are NOT criminals. They are LEGAL ALIENS.

People who illegally enter this country are ILLEGAL ALIENS and do not have legal status nor papers and are CRIMINALS for committing crimes to illegally enter and illegally remain and illegally work at a job that these job-thieves stole from an American citizen that these jobs rightfully belong to. These criminals are invaders of this land and refuse to get in line behind the immigrants who have patiently waited their turn in line and who have respect for our laws and for us. The back of the line begins in their home country and they can just wait their turn in line or stay out of our country. These criminals have absolutely no respect whatsoever for our laws or for us. They do NOT belong here PERIOD!!!

My brother's Russian wife was an immigrant and she waited her turn in line to come here legally and this immigrant has legal status with a driver license and social security card.

My brother said that his wife had to wait her turn in line so no amnesty, not now, not ever and these criminals can just get in line behind the immigrants and the back of the line begins in their home countries. He said no cutting in line by these criminals ahead of the immigrants. He also said that illegal aliens are NOT immigrants as immigrants have legal status and can work legally and don't have to be afraid of deportations like illegal alien criminals do. My brother also used to work for INS and he used to feel sorry for these criminals like I used to before we both wised up.

Even my former-illegal alien mexican ex-husband is against amnesty and said let these illegal alien criminals go back to their country and get in line and wait their turn in line and the back of the line begins in their home country.

I was getting his papers when the amnesty came along and we applied for that as it was easier and cheaper and simpler. We saw criminals get the amnesty. We were told that there would not be another amnesty as the laws would be enforced and there would no longer be such a thing as illegal immigration as the new law would prevent such a thing and it would no longer exist.

We were lied to about enforcement of the new law as once they got their amnesty they refused to allow the law to be enforced against illegal alien criminal job-thieves and they refused to close the border and build a wall all along the border to keep these racist, disease-ridden criminal job-thieves out of our country.

I am so frustrated of hearing and reading the same Lou Dobbs talking points about "Broken Borders" and "Amnesty for Criminals" from the same people, these so-called hard-working, law abiding, middle class Americans, who five years ago didn't even have an opinion on illegal immigration. As a Mexican residing in Houston, I am, or I should say, WAS one of those handful of thousands (among a dozen million) who stood to benefit from the DREAMy act. Having recently graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor degree in Marketing from UHCL (Sorry, not all foreigners can be Suma Cum Laudes) I cannot stand the notion of having to endure another year working as a waiter, at a hotel, or at a strip mall selling cell phone plans. I must hand it to all the shitweasel pundits like Glen Beck and Bill O'Reilly who have successfully brainswashed the vast majority of Americans into reciting the same soundbites when the immigrant problem comes up in a discussion. Yes, we are breaking your laws; Yes, we are low-wage opportunists; Yes, we are terrible drivers and carry diseases like leprosy and TB; and yes, we were conspiring all along to take back Texas and the rest of the states we lost some one or two hundred thousand years ago, I don't know. But that's it! I want no part in those conspiracies anymore! After 10 years of trying to assimilate (I'd like to think I gave it a decent shot) I'm going back to my native Mexico, and I'm taking along my MADE IN THE USA Marketing diploma knowing full well about the preference given to those who study abroad... or so I've been told. So thanks for the education guys, but being constantly greeted with closed doors can get old pretty quick and only because I can't seem to get a hold one of those slippery light-blue cards. So wish me good riddance if you like, I'll make it my personal mission statement to help my generation to lower the American standard of living while raising our Mexican standard. Yes, I believe it's our turn to cash in our NAFTA chips, if you don't mind. It's going to be really tough, but then again, I really REALLY hate bring rejected. That's a powerful drive.

I fully support the DREAM Act. They deserve a chance to prove themselves and contribute to this country. I find it hard to believe that anyone could be against this legislation! I guess some people have no heart (or brain), or are just so scared of immigrants that they can't deal with a bill that would give status to those who work hard in school, get a higher education and serve this country if they choose to do so.

"The opposition doesn't realize that there are people here like me who came here at a young age, we didn't have an option, and we're educated and we're trying to make it here in the country where we were brought up."

Hate to break it to you Erika but the truth is they DO realize there are people like you, and they STILL don't want you here. You see, as long as your skin is brown, they will look at you as they look at the bricklayer who just swam across. It's not their problem. They are bigots.

Anyone who would deny these kids the opportunity to put their educations to work should not be suprised when they are called bigots. They defy every possible excuse used by xenophobes: assimilation, acculturation, tax evasion, lower wages, even the "rule of law" argument. You see in the law there must be intent. Without intent, either express or implied, there can be no guilt. Even the criminal law makes allowances, but not these people. So what's left? Hence the term "bigot".

I think that spm should be freed because he has done no wrong. I mean, hasn't anybody ever told you that spm speaks the truth??? The fact that there are teenage girls are running around in bad situations is not spm's fault!!! I am in fact a big fan of spm and I believe that spm is the truth and should be freed. no matter what garbage you people put online, you cannot change my opinion!!!!!!!! SET SPM FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!