Dream Act is no free ticket
StoryDiscussionPosted: Saturday, February 6, 2010 11:55 pm | (33) Comments

Font Sizeefault font sizeLarger font sizeThe Dream Act provokes such wailing and gnashing of teeth from a vocal segment of Nebraskans that one might think the Legislature had committed some heinous act.

Actually, the law that has been on the books since 2006 just gives a few kids a chance to beat long odds for a better life.

The law allows children of illegal immigrants to attend public colleges and universities in Nebraska at in-state tuition rates.

In order to qualify, a student must have lived in Nebraska for three years, graduated from a Nebraska high school and signed an affidavit stating that he or she will file an application seeking legal status when eligible to do so.

The standards are tough. The number of students is relatively small. Fewer than 50 students are receiving in-state tuition under the law, according to college officials.

Sen. Charlie Janssen of Fremont has introduced a bill that would repeal the Dream Act.

Indications are that the bill probably will stay bottled up in the Education Committee.

Good.

Opponents of the law are fond of saying, "What part of illegal don't you understand?"

Our reply is, "What part of being a kid don't you understand?"

Kids do what their parents tell them. Kids whose parents may have taken up illegal residence in Nebraska, perhaps to work in a meatpacking plant, may find themselves years later in a situation not of their own making. The Dream Act gives those children a way to work themselves out of their predicament.

Janssen brought an anti-immigrant lawyer to Nebraska to argue against the law. Kris Kobach, a law professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, also has filed a suit against the law. Kobach travels around the country fighting similar battles in what seems to be a personal crusade.

Kobach contended in testimony to senators that it's almost impossible for students to become legal residents. He might not be entirely wrong. U.S. immigration policy is basically dysfunctional.

But Maria Flores, who earned her college degree in December from the University of Nebraska at Kearney, proved it can be done. When she started college, she was undocumented. She won legal status. She told state senators she will become a U.S. citizen next year.

Nebraska ought to keep the door open to kids who are willing to do things right and work hard for a better life. That's what the Dream Act does.

In the process, these students will help make Nebraska a better place to live. The America we live in today was built by immigrants. The Dream Act keeps the tradition alive.

Posted in Editorial on Saturday, February 6, 2010 11:55 pm

http://www.journalstar.com/news/opinion ... 002e0.html