The DREAM Act in the 111 Congress

The DREAM Act has been reintroduced in both the House (H.R. 1751, by Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA)) and the Senate (S. 729, by Sen. Dick Durban (D-IL). Several cosponsors of the legislation have referred to the DREAM Act as a "narrow" proposal to deal only with the children brought here illegally by their illegal-alien parents. Unfortunately, the facts belie that claim. Here are the essentials of what the bills would do:

• They retroactively repeal the federal ban on in-state tuition for illegal aliens, so individual states would decide whether to grant this subsidy to illegal aliens at the expense of U.S. citizens and legal residents.
• They require DHS to award amnesty to every illegal alien claiming to meet minimal criteria: 1) present in the U.S. for the last five years; 2) a U.S. high school diploma or GED, or admitted to a U.S. institution of higher learning; and 3) of good moral character with no more than 2 misdemeanor convictions.
  • The Senate version also requires that amnesty applicants be under 35 years of age and not be subject to a final order of removal or exclusion.
  • Neither version requires specific documentation or other proof that amnesty applicants actually meet these minimal criteria.
• Once an alien files an amnesty application, he or she cannot be removed from the United States for any reason until the application is fully processed and a final decision to grant or deny amnesty has been made.
• All amnesty applications go to the front of the line for processing, thus bypassing millions of people around the world who have applied to come to the United States the right way.
• In order to deny any amnesty application, the federal government has the burden of proving an illegal alien's ineligibility for amnesty.
• There are no numerical limits to the amnesty and there's no end date for the application process.
• Amnestied aliens are required to complete two years of college or military service during their first six years of legal residence, but DHS can waive the requirement or grant additional time to comply for those who do not.
• At the end of the six years, amnestied aliens can apply for citizenship and petition to bring their extended relativesóincluding the parents who brought them here illegallyóto the United States.
• Amnesty beneficiaries are eligible for certain federal student loans and work-study programs.

Hat tip to NumbersUSA.com for this info. Notice there is nothing in this bill about border control. With the Swine Flu about to be pandemic according to the WHO it is now more important to get control of the border. Who knows who is crossing the border with that disease or any other disease. Not to mention drug gangs and terrorists that could cross over too. No, just about every politician is catering to the Hispanics like they want diseased people or dangerous people in their town. It's about safety and law and order.