First and foremost, it is a piece of legislation that was reintroduced in the United States Senate, and the United States House of Representatives on March 26, 2009. This act, if passed, would give undocumented immigrant youth who were brought to the U.S. as children, graduated from high school here and completed two years of college or military service a path to permanent citizenship.

Let’s go into further detail.

“Qualified” students would be given a six-year temporary residency in which they could study at a university, serve in the military, and/or work. Within this period, the student must have “acquired a degree from an institution of higher education in the United States or [have] completed at least 2 years, in good standing, in a program for a bachelor’s degree or higher degree in the United States. Or served in the uniformed services for at least 2 years, and if discharged, [have] received an honorable discharge.” Any alien resident whose permanent resident status is terminated will have their status returned to the immigration status they had prior to receiving conditional permanent resident status under this act.

What constitutes a qualified student? According to the 2009 version of the senate bill, DREAM Act beneficiaries must:
• Have proof of having arrived in the United States before age 16.
• Have proof of residence in the United State for at least five consecutive years since their date of arrival, compliance with Selective Service.
• Be between the ages of 12 and 35 at the time of bill enactment.
• Have graduated from an American high school or obtained a GED.
• Be of “good moral character.”

Here are some more details.

Alien minors in the United States can ONLY obtain this permanent status through their parents. There is NO independent method to accomplish this. Also, if the minor child were brought into the country without immigration visas there is no method for becoming a documented resident and returning to their country of birth would not guarantee a path to documented status. Students under this act would not be allowed to receive federal or state grants for their education, but it would allow qualified students to be able to apply for student loans and work-study.

To wrap up all the legislative talk...

This bill would provide certain illegal immigrant students who graduate from US high schools, who are of good moral character, arrived in the U.S. as minor, and have been in the country continuously for at least five years prior to the bill’s enactment, the opportunity to earn conditional permanent residency.
There have been similar versions of the bill that have been introduced in the House and Senate, but to no success.

As with any bill or legislative propaganda, there is support and opposition.

Recently, the “Long Island Immigrant Students Association” (LIISA) rallied in the New York area and initiated their support for the DREAM Act. One of the founders of LIISA, Osman Canales, who is a legal resident, gave his support to the act and stated that “I have the opportunity to go to college, and I want other students to have the same right.” LIISA is “a group of students, parents, religious leaders and pro-immigrant organizations [that] have joined forces to educate the community about the DREAM Act.”

Numerous other support groups have rallied together across the nation, including on my own Ohio State campus. A forum was held in the beginning of June at OSU’s Multicultural Center to educate students and faculty of the DREAM Act and the recent Arizona immigration law. A current student also lobbied to students to sign a petition for the DREAM Act.

Above: Some of the Ohio State students who rallied outside of Thompson Library in support of the DREAM Act.

Above: The "Arizona: Why Should We Care?" Forum was held in the Multicultural Center at the Ohio Union

Support for the DREAM Act comes from many who believe that aliens should have the right to stay in the United States and work or study. Many of these aliens immigrated to the states at very young ages. They consider themselves American, having been going to school since they remember. These “aliens” want the chance to honor the country they have studied in and consider their homes.

Some arguments against the DREAM Act include the opposition against alien students qualified for the act.
The first argument states that providing in-state tuition rates to illegal aliens amounts to giving them taxpayer-financed education; compared to out-of-state students who pay the full cost of their education. This opposing viewpoint argues that giving illegal aliens this gift of education costs taxpayers money, especially in the present when tuition rates are steadily rising across the nation.

Another argument asserts that states would be encouraging aliens to violate federal immigration law. An alien is eligible for in-state tuition rates “only if he/she remains in the state in violation of federal law and evades federal law enforcement.”

One last argument I will discuss: Not only are such federal immigration laws unfair to those aliens who do abide by the law, but also they hurt the “law-abiding American citizens.” An American student who goes to an out-of-state university would be paying upwards to three times the tuition an alien would pay going to an in-state university.

Whether you are supporting or opposing the DREAM Act, it would open up many opportunities for alien minors and allow them to become a citizen.

So. Where do you stand?

(There is so much about the DREAM Act, but I didn’t want to bore my readers by going into too much detail. Browse my sources below for more information. Feel free to email me at vigorlam.2012@gmail.com too if you have any thoughts or opinions!)

-Veegor.

*Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DREAM_Act
http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/just-facts/dream-act
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/bronx/2010/08/26/2010-08-26_youths_d...
http://www.scribd.com/doc/16092058/Arguments-Against-the-DREAM-Act
http://www.heritage.org/Research/Reports/2007/09/A-Sleeper-Amnesty-Time-...

*Photo Credits go to Judy Sun! :)

To start a blog off normally, the blogger introduces himself and explains what his intentions for the blog are, what his hopes, dreams, and fantasies for the blog are; hoping that one day, this blog will be read by millions and billions and zillions of people. Alright. That may a stretch, but it’s ok to dream isn’t it? But yes, the blogger wants to be heard by the mass public and have their thoughts, feelings, and perspectives understood.

Enter Blogger.

Hello! My name is Vigor Lam and I am the Advocacy Chair for the Midwest Asian American Students Union during the 2010-2011 year. As the Advocacy Chair, it is my job to “advocate” about Asian American Issues and blog about them! First off, let’s get some introductions going.

To put my name with a face...
Here, I am attempting to post at the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California!

I am going to be a junior this fall at THE Ohio State University. (Yes, I do have a pompous pride for the university. Please don’t judge me haha. It will not show in this blog though, I promise.) I am majoring in Landscape Architecture and hoping to minor in Entrepreneurship. I'm involved on campus with various organizations. I am Co-President of the Asian American Association with fellow MAASU ECC Member Teresa Lai! I'm also involved with Asian American InterVarsity, Chimes Junior Class Honorary, Golden Key International Honors Society, Habitat for Humanity, the Students Chapter of American Society of Landscape Architects, and SERVitecture.

People usually gasp or go “Oooo!” when they hear me say my major, but they don’t really know what it is. So I will explain it. No, I don’t only plant trees and do landscaping in your yard. Landscape architecture is so much more! In a nutshell, the major emphasizes design of outdoor and public spaces to achieve sustainable and environmental outcomes. Landscape architects design parks ranging from large to small scale. Oh, and I get to doodle, sketch, and build a lot of cool models.

To talk more about myself, I enjoy hanging out with my family and going out with friends. I am not a picky eater. I eat. Everything. I love to eat. Food is my weakness for sure. Other tidbits about me include my love for the Asian community and the culture. I am Cantonese, and can speak it fluently! I can also speak basic Mandarin and should be fluent in German. Verrückt stimmt?! I love to learn languages and I REALLY want to learn Korean! I enjoy swimming, working out, and playing sports whenever. Snowboarding is one of my favorite pastimes. I also strive to play guitar well and play piano. I am a Christian and as I said, I’m currently in InterVarsity Christian Fellowship on campus and also attend church to learn more about the religion.

Enough about me though! This blog is about advocacy and that is exactly what I am going to do. Even though it's normal for a blogger to include his perspective, the main purpose of this blog is to inform the general public on issues that are relevant to APIA issues. I will NOT include my stance or debate on very controversial topics, nor will I attempt to persuade you, my readers, to think a certain way. The biggest thing I want you to get out of reading this blog is to understand the issues that Asian Americans and Americans are currently facing.

If you have any questions or suggestions for this blog, please don’t hesitate to email me at vigorlam.2012@gmail.com!

My first entry on a topic will be about the DREAM Act. Look out for that in the near future! Thanks for reading! Until then, toodles!

-Veegor.

End Blogger.