Thread: Backlash from nativists delays DREAM Act

Backlash from nativists delays DREAM Act

BY FRED GRIMM
fgrimm@nmiamiherald.com

Compassion? Well . . . wasn't that naive?

Supporters of the DREAM Act pursued a misguided strategy -- that it would be enough to tell the poignant stories of scholarly, bright, hard-working children of undocumented immigrants and the tragedy of their curtailed education.

It wasn't.

Advocates assumed that if other citizens got to know these students, they'd hardly insist on punishing kids for the sins of their illegal immigrant parents.

Compassion, as it turns out, was not integral to the new politics.

Students of the undocumented kind, no matter their academic performance, have become fodder in a ferocious political insurgency. Stories about Straight-A students, raised in the U.S., high achievers forced after high school to take menial jobs in the underground economy -- none of it mattered.

This week, José Salcedo, a Miami Dade College student government president, honor student and student rep on the board of trustees, made a public declaration of his illegal status at a DREAM Act rally. It won't help.

The populist campaign against illegal immigrants abides no special exception for young innocents, even honor students.

Politicians who know better seem cowed by the campaign against the DREAM Act, which would allow undocumented graduates of U.S. high schools without criminal records to attend college or join the military with a path toward legal residency. (Iowa governor-elect Terry Branstad further exploited the nativist mood, suggesting his state bar children of illegal immigrants from K-12 public schools.)

Even a few politicians from South Florida have found it expedient to diss the DREAM Act. U.S. Senator-elect Marco Rubio and U.S. Rep.-elect David Rivera, both sons of immigrants, oppose it. George LeMieux, the appointed U.S. Senator from Broward, a lame duck with nothing to lose, said he couldn't support the DREAM Act ``until we have taken substantial and effective measures to secure our borders.'' LeMieux well knows the long, vulnerable Mexican border will always provide an excuse to say no.

The Obama administration's trying to push the DREAM Act through a lame duck Congress. A long shot. Too much talk about compassion. Not enough about economics.

The DREAM Act has been sold as just that. Something dreamy rather than corollary to an immigrant-driven economy. Non-citizen immigrants have founded a quarter of American tech and engineering start-ups and half the high-tech companies in Silicon Valley, according to a joint study by Duke University and the University of California at Berkley. Non-citizen immigrants file for patents at twice the rate of native-born Americans.

A McGill University study found they ``outperform native college graduates in wages, patenting, commercializing and licensing patents.'' A Babson College study found 61 percent of all new businesses in recession-stricken 2008 were started by immigrants.

Maybe the DREAM Act should have been framed as a stimulus package for a laggard economy in sore need of motivated, hungry, driven, well-educated young immigrant entrepreneurs.

In an angry time, low on compassion for immigrants, even for their children, it should have been called a jobs act.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/11/20/1 ... elays.html

They know the "racist" BS won't work anymore, so now we are "nativists", and "not compassionate".

And instead of "undocumented workers", they're going to try "non-citizen immigrants".

Ha ha, you aiders and abettors are creative when you're desperate.

Call it whatever you want, we know your word games, and we are immune from their effects -- we will end the illegal invasion of our sovereign nation.

Buh bye now.

What they fail to say is that these start-up companies and patents in Silicon Valley are by legal immigrants not by illegal immigrants. These Non-citizens are not getting their education on America's dime either. Most of these non-citizen immigrants are educated in their home countries and come to work legally in the hi-tech industry.

The Dream Act has nothing to do with legal immigrants that have contributed to our economy. I have noticed one constant in the sob stories from the poor, poor hispanic student victims - most of them are taking subjects that would only benefit LaRaza.

Why don't they admit that the only reason they are straight A students. Many are in the English as a second language program in high school and get A s for showing up. My daughter was told by someone to deliberately fail the Englsih test and do the English as a second language program so she can pass without working hard. She did the test but did not fail it. She said the English test was a joke. It even had what the proper spelling of the was. Her friend deliberately failed it. In the end she tutored him in a class and he got higher grades than her and offered scholarships. It is not only illegals but legal immigrants as well who get the breaks and Americans have to work harder for it.

The DREAM Act has been sold as just that. Something dreamy rather than corollary to an immigrant-driven economy. Non-citizen immigrants have founded a quarter of American tech and engineering start-ups and half the high-tech companies in Silicon Valley, according to a joint study by Duke University and the University of California at Berkley. Non-citizen immigrants file for patents at twice the rate of native-born Americans.

A McGill University study found they ``outperform native college graduates in wages, patenting, commercializing and licensing patents.'' A Babson College study found 61 percent of all new businesses in recession-stricken 2008 were started by immigrants.

Oh really? Well, let me tell you why that is. 690,000 F-1 student visas issued every year to foreign students who also get Optical Practical Training Jobs usually at universities so they get the lab and engineering opportunities through their job training programs to put their names on patents developed in university settings, plus then they get the permanent visa for the permanent high paying job. Go to any college in America, go to the labs, walk around and see who is in them. Very few Americans. Almost all foreign students. Now we know the reason.

And why is it a surprise that during the recession 61% of all new businesses were started by "immigrants"? Immigrants get a $500,000 loan from the US government to start certain new businesses that they never have to pay back so long as the title of the business remains with a family member or relative.

It should also be pointed out that virtually every "new" business started by an immigrant competed with one of our existing businesses, undercut them, and either weakened them or put them out of business sending the owners and all their citizen employees to the unemployment roles, or deflated their wages and earnings so much it sent them to the government for subsidy and hand-outs or they said hell with it and outsourced offshore or relocated to another country.

The American Economic System is a production-based income-driven economy. But, if we've become an "immigrant-driven economy", then we can blame the immigrants who drove it into the ditch.

But that all aside, the Dream Act isn't about immigrants, it's about illegal aliens. Perhaps the author of this pro-amnesty open borders lobby crap-article just might do well to learn the difference before he writes another one.

Also, the average legal immigrant is not an Einstein founding a successful company in Silicon Valley. Many of them are just average workers with common white collar skill sets who displace Americans. Many are frauds and many violate the laws designed to protect American workers. They were supposed to supplement our workforce, not replace us.

Check here to see the horrific penetration of our labor market by foreign workers at a time of record unemployment in America: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/ ... tive_tools

Thinking of the Ashton Kusher TV show "Punked". Wishing something similar could be done to one of these IA hugging reporters. It couldn't happen without cooperation from the editor though so it's unlikely. But let us just imagine...

The editor (who we'll call Ed) enters the reporters office accompanied by a young foreign woman and says:

"Good morning JG. I've been considering some changes for the paper for awhile now and have come to the conclusion that while your services have been of a top quality ever since you came aboard, we can no longer retain you because your salary is cost prohibitive."

JG replies with a slight laugh: "Yeah right Ed. I'm sure replacing me would be be cost effective." (JG sort of giggles) "I've been here for twenty years and make what... about 10% more than the standard wage of a beginning editorialist? How could you possibly replace me and make an actually cost effective difference?"

To which Ed replies: "It's already done JG." (turning to the woman who entered with him) "Meet Annill Eagal, she has just graduated near the top of her class and is willing to take your place for one third of you current salary. I was impressed by her application submission and though she's not nearly as skilled as you, for that amount of savings I believe she'll do just fine."

At first stunned then angry JG replies: "How...How could she possibly be willing to do what I do for so much less?" (the anger kicks in) "Only an illegal alien would accept such a deal!"

Ed replies: "As a matter of fact she is, her parents brought her here when she was just three. She learned English in ESL classes in the lower grades then with the aide of social programs designed to help those in her circumstance, got through college and here she is."

JG interrupts: "You mean to tell me I'm being replaced by some-one who isn't even a legal citizen of the USA? I'll go to our rival paper and write about this for weeks! My columns will destroy this paper!"

ED replies softly at first then a bit more forcefully: "JG, you know how this business works,this isn't a decision our paper made on it's own. A conference was held a few months ago an the entire industry decided this is the future of the trade." (now speaking with a more forceful attitude) I'm amazed you of all people didn't see this coming. Almost every article you've written in the past few years has been about how deserving people like Annill are."

I'll leave the ending as an open ?

For starters "kids" don't go to college, adults do.

Dixie

Racist and xenophobe quit working a long time ago

Nativist has been their new word for a couple years now.

In a sense what is the average mexican illegal ? they come here and refuse to assimilate, They want the bennys of this country but refuse to leave their home countries in principal ,

Who is the real nativist?

Those straight A students should be thanking us instead of complaining. Could they possibly have gotten a better education - free - in their home countries? The U.S. taxpayers have given them the gift of K through high school education and still they want more, more, more. It won't stop with the Dream Act, they will still want more.