DREAM Act Nightmare

from Michelle Malkin:

Nov 30, 2010 7:23 AMDREAM Act nightmare: A massive open-borders entitlement programfrom Michelle Malkin by Michelle Malkin


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It’s no surprise to long-time readers of this blog that the pro-illegal immigration Wall Street Journal has come out in favor of the DREAM Act bailout.



The WSJ editorial page has long crusaded for de facto and de jure amnesty — and I’ve exposed its deceptive campaigning on behalf of illegal aliensfor years. (See my deconstruction of a demagogic WSJ editorial page meeting attacking enforcement-first conservatives during the Bush shamnesty debacle.)



24ahead.com does a terrific job dismantling the latest DREAM Act propaganda from the WSJ, which backs the latest massive amnesty entitlement program and Democrat voter recruitment drive masquerading as an education bill:



Not only does the Wall Street Journal endorse a bill that would harm American citizens, they also mislead about the bill:



Restrictionists dismiss the Dream Act as an amnesty that rewards people who entered the country illegally. But the bill targets individuals brought here by their parents as children. What is to be gained by holding otherwise law-abiding young people, who had no say in coming to this country, responsible for the illegal actions of others? The Dream Act also makes legal status contingent on school achievement and military service, the type of behavior that ought to be encouraged and rewarded.




1. Those covered have to be “younger than 16 years of age on the date the alien initially entered the United States”, but there’s nothing in the bill requiring them to prove that they were brought here by their parents; older children do occasionally cross the border alone.



2. The DREAM Act grants “conditional permanent resident status” – lasting six years – and the minimum requirements are to have “earned a high school diploma or obtained a general education development certificate in the United States”. Not to diminish those who have GEDs, but is that what most people have in mind when they hear the phrase “school achievement”?



3. Many things would be gained from not passing the DREAM Act. If we could encourage those illegal aliens to return home they could help their own countries. The alternative the WSJ wants would continue braindraining Mexico and other sending countries. We’d also free up education slots and possibly discounts for American citizens, something that’s vitally important due to cutbacks in community college budgets that cause many Americans not to be able to obtain retraining.



We’d prefer that border reform start by expanding legal channels of entry for people who come here to work. There would be little need for a Dream Act if more U.S. work visas had been available for the parents of these children. The U.S. focus on border security has, along with the economic downturn, had some effect on reducing illegal entries. But walls, fences and employer crackdowns mainly produce thriving markets in human smuggling and document fraud and make a mockery of the rule of law, especially in some border areas.



1. If all the work visas in the world were available and everything else were the same, we’d still have a large illegal alien population, and it would probably be higher due to the network effect.




2. Those making “a mockery of the rule of law” include the WSJ and all the other sources that oppose immigration enforcement.



Supporting the Dream Act also makes political sense for Republicans, who will have a tough time winning national elections without more Hispanic support. Polls show that Hispanic-American priorities tend to match those of other voters—the economy, jobs, education and so forth. Nevertheless, immigration has symbolic importance among Hispanics as a sign of political recognition and respect.



The DREAM Act is an openly anti-American bill that would help foreign citizens who are here illegally at the same time as it hurt some American citizens who won’t be able to go to college. Most GOP leaders are certainly corrupt enough to put their political interests well ahead of the interests of the U.S. To some extent many Hispanics are willing to put their ethnic solidarity interests ahead of the interests of the U.S. as a whole; if most GOP leaders weren’t corrupt they’d realize how serious a problem that is and take pro-American steps to counter it.



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Floor update: Weaker Pelosi had scheduled a floor vote yesterday but postponed it for later this week or next. Translation: Your calls are working. Keep it up.



Previous:



Dianne Feinstein grants an illegal alien deportation waiver



DREAM Act nightmare: 2.1 million future Democrat voter recruitment drive



DREAM Act scorecard: Target Democrats on the fence or leaning no; Plus: The cowardly kiddie human shield strategy



DREAM Act scorecard: The GOP Senate fence-sitters; Update: LeMieux and Hutchison off the fence



Stop the illegal alien student bailout: DREAM Act target list; Plus: Sen. Sessions’ critical alert




Payback: DREAM Act plotters at the White House; open-borders lobby pressures GOP



Harry Reid promises lame-duck illegal alien bailout vote; GOP presses DHS on deportations



DREAM Act won’t die



DREAM Act showdown: Dems hold defense bill hostage to social justice; Update: Cloture vote FAILS 56-43, now pass a clean bill; Reid vows: “We’re going to vote on the DREAM Act. It’s only a question of when;” Murkowski skipped vote



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A Daily Record reader takes on the “appalling sense of entitlement” of the DREAM Act agitators.



On a related note, I’m in Austin, Texas today for a YAF speech. UT-Austin illegal alien students are waging a hunger strike here and on several other campuses (15 were arrested in San Antonio) and they plan to attend the event tonight. Bring it on.



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Blogger Robin Juhl snapped photos of the San Antonio shamnesty protest at GOP Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison’s office. See here. Hutchison remains opposed to the DREAM Act. For now. Be sure to phone her and buck her up.