Dream Act gives away privileges of our country



By Your Letters The Post-Standard
on January 31, 2013 at 11:15 AM

To the Editor:

Haven't we given away too much already to an illegal immigrant population? With each passing day, more and more of the privileges afforded to citizens of this country are being given away to those who have little or no commitment to the country whose resources they exploit.

I, like most of us, put myself through college, and while I repaid the loans that allowed me to complete that education, I also paid taxes to a federal and state government I believed in. When it came time to see my children off to school, I did the same. Why now, in the midst of monumental state debt, with cities, towns and local schools on the verge of financial collapse, are we considering earmarking dollars we do not have for a program that would support those who slipped between the cracks to join a line with hands out?

I was raised to understand the American dream to be the reaping of the reward of what a free country could offer, if one was willing to work long and hard to achieve it. It is sad to see that as the generations of the past give way to the generations of the future, our state government sees fit to trample on what our ancestors built and give away what they treasured to an illegal immigrant population unwilling to pay the price of admission to this still-great country.

The Dream Act before our state Legislature has a Downstate ''silver'' lining that we cannot afford. Stand up and be heard before the American dream is over.

Damian M. Ulatowski
North Syracuse

http://blog.syracuse.com/opinion/2013/01/dream_act_gives_away_privilege.html