Dream Act for Dreamers
Life is not easy to be a perfect for anyone. Everyone needs something all the time. People always try to effort to get what they want and need. Many people including me come to the United States to get a better future life but immigration to a new country is not as easy as what we expected. Majority of people come to the United States to achieve their dreams. Some immigrants have real documents enter into the United States but some do not. Those people who do not have real documents are called illegal immigrants.
Most of them made across the border enter into the United States. No matter what they are legal or illegal, all of them are here looking for a good life. Many different people from different countries come to the United States because America is a land of immigrants. Legal immigrants are properly becoming the United States citizenship under the laws but illegal immigrants are still waiting to fulfill their dreams. We might have a question to ask, “Should immigration law change for the illegal immigrants to gain their legal status”? Answer may vary from different views.
Some people agree that immigration law should change if undocumented immigrants, who already here for many years, they pay taxes, obey the laws and are a good man for the country. Some people do not agree that immigration law should change for the undocumented immigrants because they enter into the U. S. by breaking the law. One of the undocumented immigrants, Jose Antonio Vargas, shares his own experience of living as an illegal immigrant in the United States in his two articles “My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant,” and “Not Legal Not Leaving. Vargas was born in Philippine and grew up in the United States from his teen age. His mother sent him to the U. S. without real documents to live with his grandparents when he was 12 years old. Finally, he found out that he came to the U. S. with fake documents after he turned to age of 16. He concerned about someone figured out his secret one day and then he kept his status for many years. It made him uncomfortable upon people who help him a lot, he finally decided to announce about his real life and identity to the public.
He is not only an undocumented immigrant but also a gay. He declared his status and requested for the DREAM Act (the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act), which would help the people, who did not have real documents, to be a legal citizenship available to them. Unfortunately, Vargas does not qualify for the program because of his age now he is over 30. Although Vargas does not have a chance to apply the program, he fights for the young undocumented immigrants. The Dream Act is eligible for young people who arrived to the U. S. as minors, graduated from high school in the U. S. , and lived in the U. S. at least 5 years. Lately, the Department of Homeland Security announced that young people who were in the country illegally would stop deportation and got work permits under the program. However, The DREAM Act legislation has not passed yet. The U. S. Congress should pass the DREAM Act for the DREAMers who eligible for the program so that they can finish their higher education, contribute to the societies, and make more economic growth in the future for our country.
The DREAMers, young people who are illegal immigrants, have grown up here and already assimilated into the culture. All of them were brought here illegally by their parents and relatives. They didn’t have their own choice to come to the United States. According to Vargas’s article “Not Legal Not Leaving,” there are estimated 11. 5 million people of illegal immigrants live in the United States and they are still struggling like him for a better life (Vargas, 2012, p. 1). Like Vargas, all of illegal immigrants were brought to the United States when they were children.
They all are here to find for their better future. They might face many more problems than regular immigrants face because they didn’t have real documents to show proof of live here legally. Some undocumented immigrants are already deported but some are still remained. Vargas said, “I am sorry for what I did, but I did it because I had to live and survive” (Vargas, 2012, p. 5). They broke the law because they had no choice for living and surviving their lives in a new country. Although they pay taxes that the U.S. citizens do, they do not get equal rights as a citizen. They only get a benefit from their efforts is a stressful life. We should consider those young people to fulfill their American dream. The Congress should pass the DREAM Act for those young people who eligible to apply the program. If DREAM Act will pass, more DREAMers can finish their education and get well-paying jobs. For example, if some of them will become doctors, they can cure different diseases to safe many people lives.
And also they can give more support to their societies and the country. Similarly, the DREAMers were obliged by their parents and relatives they had no choice. They did not break the law directly. However, their parents and relatives broke the law. The adults got only one reason which they wanted to give a better future life for their children. Vargas told us that he believed himself as an American even though America didn’t count him yet for an American (Vargas, 2011, p. 2). Like Vargas, they all believe that America is their home.
They were raised here and they knew nothing where else. They all are creating a better life and hoping their dream comes true. Vargas describes, “I’ve created a good life. I’ve lived the American dream” (Vargas, 2011, p. 2). They all are same as like Vargas and they have their own story why they are here. No matter what they break the law or not, we should allow the young people who have educated here, paid taxes and being a good man to gain their status to be a legal immigrant.
If the DREAM Act will pass, the minors can step towards their American dream. If so, those millions of minors can make our country to be a better place and more economic growth in the future. The Congress should pass the DREAM Act for those young undocumented immigrants because they have been living here for many years and they are educated, worked, and paid taxes like other residents and American citizens. People are never perfect; we make a mistake at least one time in our whole life. We should give a chance to try their lives better.
If the DREAM Act is passed, they will be allowed to stay like permanent residents and will have to contribute more their communities or societies and make their lives better than before. To fulfill their dream come true, the DREAM Act should pass for the minors (or) DREAMers.
References
- Vargas, J. (2011, June 22). My life as an undocumented immigrant. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www. nytimes. com/2011/06/26/magazine/my-life-as-an-undocumented-immigra nt. html?
- Vargas, J. (2012). Not legal not leaving. (Cover story). Time, 179(25), 34-44.
