No Amnesty, No DREAM Act Action Request

The upcoming debate over the DREAM Act’s passage is beginning to look more like a con man’s shell game, of sorts. With two new versions of the original DREAM Act now on the table, it will be easier to perpetrate a great fraud on the American public. Players in the game -- the American people -- will be tantalized with accepting changes in the law via legislation, substituting amnesty applied to current law breakers for the legitimate and honest legal immigration process already in place.

The White House, unaccountable agency czars, and congressmen, some of whom compromised integrity for votes in the pre-mid-term election cycle, are creating confusion over the details with the political goal of passing it without much objection. Congressmen who never read bills, won’t know which version they are voting on. However, this is one measure where the devil is NOT in the details of the two bills, but in principle.

The truth of the DREAM Act's goals, S. 3827, were best exposed by Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) in his “Ten Things You Need to Know About S. 3827, The DREAM Act." Here are a few of the low-lights he enumerated:

• The DREAM Act Is NOT Limited to Children, And It Will Be Funded On the Backs Of Hard Working, Law-Abiding Americans
• The DREAM Act PROVIDES SAFE HARBOR FOR ANY ALIEN, Including Criminals, From Being Removed or Deported If They Simply Submit An Application
• Estimates Suggest That At Least 2.1 Million Illegal Aliens Will Be Eligible For the DREAM Act Amnesty.
• Illegal Aliens Will Get In-State Tuition Benefits
• The DREAM Act Does Not Require That An Illegal Alien Finish Any Type of Degree
• The DREAM Act does not require that an illegal alien serve in the military as a condition for amnesty, and There is ALREADY A Legal Process In Place For Illegal Aliens to Obtain U.S. Citizenship Through Military Service
• Despite Their Current Illegal Status, DREAM Act Aliens Will Be Given All The Rights That Legal Immigrants Receive—Including The Legal Right To Sponsor Their Parents and Extended Family Members For Immigration
• Current Illegal Aliens Will Get Federal Student Loans, Federal Work Study Programs, and Other Forms of Federal Financial Aid

Dreamy buyers need to beware, both versions are on the Senate calendar. From Congressional Quarterly comes the minute differences between the two versions:

One version (S 3962) keeps an eligibility age of younger than 35 for the program, but a second version (S 3963) lowers that age to younger than 30....
If no other eligibility criteria are changed, the potential number of people eligible would drop slightly, from roughly 2.1 million to slightly more than 2 million, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute.

Besides the usual Democrats who support the measure, Republicans Richard Lugar from Indiana and Robert Bennett of Utah are already vocalizing their support. Senator Orrin Hatch may be on board if the cut off point is lowered somewhat; after all he authored the original legislation, nine years ago. Senators Snowe, Collins, Murkowski, Brownback and McCain either have not yet made up their minds, or haven’t made public statements on how they will vote.

If your elected representatives are out of sync with you, your family, friends and neighbors on this issue, contact them immediately as time is of the essence in this lame duck session, and let them know you are not in favor of limited or conditional amnesty for illegals. Remind them that the front door of the United States, the one our forebears came through, is always open for those seeking application for a new life in a new land. True justice requires that a nation and those from outside respect the established laws of that nation. Breaking those laws and then rewriting them after the fact is no justice at all.

Thanks,

Your friends at The John Birch Society