This article is the first in an ongoing series designed to highlight the work of the Justice Board on issues affecting all of us.
“The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as one of your citizens; you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I the Lord am your God.” (Leviticus 19:34)
Each year, approximately 65,000 high school graduates are prevented from attending college or working legally due to their undocumented immigration status. Our immigration law currently has no mechanism to consider their special circumstances, and even if they leave the U.S. in an effort to enter legally, they are barred from re-entry for up to 10 years since they have been here in an undocumented status.
The DREAM Act would correct this inequity by allowing upstanding high school graduates who were brought to the United States as children years ago to obtain a temporary visa so they could attend school, travel, and work legally. After 10 years, they could apply for a green card (lawful permanent residency), and eventually apply for citizenship. To qualify for the temporary visa, students would have to prove they are under 30 years old; were brought to the United States before they were 16; have been here for at least five years; have graduated from High School; and have a criminal-free record and good moral conduct. Then, they would have to complete two years of college, trade school, or military service to then adjust their status to lawful permanent residency and pursue a pathway to citizenship.
The DREAM Act has received significant bipartisan support in the past, and is currently the only measure to change immigration laws that is gaining momentum in Congress. The DREAM Act would not give amnesty, since these children did not choose to come here illegally. It merely allows them to correct their status with a law that they had no say in breaking.
In December of 2010, Congress was just 5 votes short of passing the DREAM Act and ensuring that millions of immigrant children can stay in the United States, where they call home. This year, on June 28th, the Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Immigration Refugees, and Border Security held a hearing on the DREAM Act, chaired by Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) who has championed this legislation from the beginning. For the first time in years, public support for positive immigration reform surpassed opposition.
Your voice is needed to change this law. There are mechanisms that you can help support now that will affect the lives of these high schoolers. You can contact your local legislatures and support state bills that would enable migrant youth to attend college with in-state tuition, health care, transportation and other support that citizen youth have in a given state. You can advocate for the Obama Administration to change enforcement policies as they apply to migrant youth and all detainees. You can call your Congress person and tell them you support the DREAM Act.
Some of this article was taken from the DREAM ACT Sabbath materials posted on Interfaith Immigration Coalition’s website. Please visit www.interfaithimmigration.org for more information.
