DREAM Act carries some harsh realities

By Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) - 12/06/10 04:53 PM ET
Last week, the Department of Labor reported that unemployment in America rose to 9.8 percent. Joblessness has now topped 9.5 percent for 16 straight months, the longest stretch since the Great Depression. Yet in the 11th hour of the 111th Congress, Democrats are attempting to pass legislation that would grant amnesty to an estimated two million illegal immigrants.


The DREAM Act subsidizes education for illegal immigrants, grants them mass amnesty, encourages more illegal immigration and inevitably takes jobs from American workers. Simply put, the DREAM Act is a nightmare for the American people.

Claims that the bill only applies to 875,000 illegal immigrants are misleading. According to the Migration Policy Institute, an estimated two million illegal immigrants under the age of 35 would be eligible for amnesty under the DREAM Act. Once amnesty recipients become citizens and turn 21, they can sponsor their illegal immigrant parents for legalization. This kind of chain migration only encourages more illegal immigration, as parents will bring their children to the U.S. in hopes of receiving citizenship.

The bill also is a magnet for fraud. Many illegal immigrants will falsely claim that they arrived in the U.S. before age 16. And the DREAM Act makes it possible for almost any illegal immigrant to evade the law. Once an application is filed, no matter how fraudulent, the federal government is prohibited from deporting the applicant.

Apparently the Obama administration sees nothing wrong with illegal immigration. Today, Americans under the age of 35 face an unemployment rate of 14.5 percent. And 28 percent of all African-Americans under age 35 have no job. So why are the Democrats considering this bill? Didn’t they hear the voters on Nov. 2? The American people want a strong and growing economy, not more competition for scarce jobs. 

One reason might explain why the Democrats are willing to hurt American workers. These are their own words: “The legalization of 11 million new immigrants would likely cement the [Democratic] party’s position as the majority party for decades to come.â€