The Gramblinite

Issue date: 2/4/10 Section: Voices

Media Credit: John Preston Tina Marie

Every year, roughly 2.8 million students graduate from high schools in America. Most of these students will go on to pursue their lifelong dreams. Of the students, around 65,000 will not have the choice to achieve their goals. They cannot continue their education, join the military or get a decent job. They get stuck in the seemingly second-class work field. These students are undocumented.

As of right now, children who immigrate to the US can only obtain legal status through their parents. There is no way of getting residency independently. Returning to their country does not guarantee a way to documentation; attempts to return often fail due to roadblocks such as a 10-year ban on re-entering the States.

Sen. Richard Durbin of Illinois and Rep. Howard Bern of California introduced The Development Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, also known as the DREAM Act in early 2009.

This bill would give illegal immigrants, who entered the United States at a young age, graduated from high school, are in good moral standing and have lived here at least five consecutive years prior to the bill's ratification, an opportunity to receive a higher education and work toward their citizenship.

I feel many fail to realize that most young undocumented people did not have a choice to come or stay. Their parents packed their bags and brought them across the border to provide them with a better life and future.

Yet, these youth just continue the cycle of undocumentation, putting their dreams on hold. Everyone should have an opportunity for a better tomorrow.

Denying high school graduates the right to continue their education because of legal status, in the end, will not help our country.

Some believe immigrants should not be rewarded for breaking our laws and coming here illegally. But they did not have a choice. Most of these students are highly motivated and want nothing more than to be American citizens.

Do we have the right to stop them? Yes, there are ways of receiving a legal status, but when you are already here and have lived here most of your life, shouldn't you be granted the opportunity to be a citizen?

These immigrants have no one and nowhere to return. They no longer fit into the social culture they left behind. With this bill, it is not as if we are ignoring the problems of the borders and handing out "Come to America Free" passes.

The DREAM Act is not a freebie. Eligible students would be granted temporary residency for six years. During this period, they must obtain at least a bachelor's degree or serve two years in the military.

They must also be in good standing with the US. If completed, they will then have an opportunity to apply for citizenship and become American citizens.

Why not grant these youth who so desperately want to be citizens the opportunity to become Americans? If America is known as a melting pot, why is it trying to shut out the very people who bring it diversity?

Tina Marie Alvarenga, a senior Tech journalism major at Louisiana Tech, is from New Orleans.

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