Resurrecting the DREAM Act

During his State of the Union address, President Obama urged Congress to reintroduce and pass the DREAM Act, a bill that would create a path to citizenship for students who arrived in the United States as children of undocumented immigrants and allow them to apply for college loans and state scholarships. Mayor Bloomberg’s call for passage of the act during his State of the City speech was his only proposal to receive sustained applause from the elected officials and others in the audience. We will be urging our own state union, New York State United Teachers, to pass a resolution endorsing the passage of such legislation during its upcoming Representative Assembly.

Clearly this is a proposal whose time has come. It has broad support among many educators, immigrant rights advocates, clergy, and moderate and progressive legislators in Congress and statehouses around the nation.

A disinformation and fear-mongering campaign doomed the act’s prospects for passage after the House of Representatives approved it in December 2010. But the very same Tea Party Republicans who claimed last time that the bill offers amnesty to lawbreakers now find themselves reconsidering their opposition as they try to broaden their appeal to Latinos and young voters during this election year. So maybe, just maybe, the bill’s chances are improving.

It is regrettable that the fate of such significant legislation hangs on the vicissitudes of politics. If those in Congress judged the bill strictly on its merits, they would see how the nation stands to benefit from so much untapped talent and potential. They would be wise to expand opportunities for hundreds of thousands of young immigrants who simply want a chance to get ahead and give something back in the process.