'The third rail of politics'
By Jenn Smith, Berkshire Eagle Staff
Article Last Updated: 10/09/2007 03:05:34 AM EDT


Tuesday, October 09
One bill may be a dream for immigrants, but it's a nightmare for critics.
The federal Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act, better known as the DREAM Act of 2007, is a complex piece of legislation being proposed within the U.S. Congress.

It is meant to provide a path of citizenship for immigrant students so they can pursue a higher education or enroll in the military in the U.S.

Last month, the DREAM Act was put down in the Senate for the time being, after author Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., and others tried to make it an amendment to the 2008 Defense Appropriations Bill.

William Gheen, president of Americans for Legal Immigration PAC, said this is as it should be.

"The DREAM Act is amnesty. Amnesties are the third rail of politics," said Gheen.

Gheen said that the primary reasons for opposition to the bill are because it is seen as an encouragement of immigration and because it appears that the bill would be giving illegal aliens tuition advantages and college seats over Americans born in the country, based on U.S. taxpayers' dollars.

Mariann Davies agreed, noting that she feels the bill would also jeopardize legal

students' chances for tuition benefits and financial aid, and allow the illegal students who are granted extended citizenship, a chance to later sponsor other illegal aliens. Davies is a founding member and vice chairwoman for You Don't Speak for Me, a coalition of Hispanic-Americans for legal immigration.
Gheen noted that the DREAM Act, and its various incarnations, have not been favored since being introduced in 2001, failing to ever reach a full vote in Congress.

But despite its let-downs, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has vowed to get the measure through to a full Senate vote by mid-November.

http://www.berkshireeagle.com/localnews/ci_7124272