Opinion Contributor
Latinos, GOP must unite for DREAM

The author writes that his ultimate goal is a 'bipartisan immigration solution.'

CloseBy JUAN HERNANDEZ | 12/2/10 10:21 AM EST Updated: 12/2/10 10:32 AM EST

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is set Thursday to host a gathering of prominent Latino conservatives in Washington. This forum is designed to help bind Hispanics to a powerful idea at the core of the Republican Party: promoting liberty here and abroad.

This conference takes place just as Congress prepares to vote on the DREAM Act, bipartisan legislation that allows young immigrants to earn legal status by attending college or serving in the military.

As a co-founder of Conservatives for Comprehensive Immigration Reform, I view this confluence of events as an opportunity for conservatives and liberals to escape the current polarization in U.S. politics. Instead, we can promote sensible and compassionate solutions to our nation´s problems.

As our partners at the National Association of Evangelicals explain the ultimate goal: a bipartisan immigration solution that respects every person, protects the family, respects the rule of law, guarantees secure national borders, ensures fairness to taxpayers and establishes a path toward legal status for those who qualify.

The opportunity for reform before us now is the DREAM Act. If passed, it would allow promising immigrant youth, who were brought to America as children and grew up in our schools, to earn legal status by serving in the U.S. armed forces or attending college. Otherwise, they face a bleak future: either stop their education and professional development and hide in the shadows, or return to countries of origin they do not know. This would be a tremendous waste — not only for them, but for our nation. America needs these talented young men and women.

If, as conservatives, we fail to show our support for the DREAM Act now, we risk rejecting the very values of liberty, democracy and human freedom that Gingrich’s “The Americanoâ€