By Shelly Williams/editor-in-chief
Stories of immigrants coming to America to better their lives have been heard throughout history.
It’s what this nation was built on — the American dream.
Lately, the media have talked about the possibility of a federal bill called the Dream Act.
The bill could allow thousands of qualifying young illegal immigrants to reach their American dream through a six-year-long “conditional path to citizenship” that requires completion of a college degree or two years of military service.
Qualifiers must have entered the United States before the age of 16, must have been here for at least five consecutive years prior to the enactment of the Dream Act and must have graduated from a U.S. high school, obtained a GED or have been accepted into a college.
Qualifiers also must be between the ages of 12 and 35 at the time of application for citizenship and have good moral character.
This is all fine and dandy, but the qualifications are a little too broad and present a minefield of possible future problems.
For instance, how does one define “good moral character”?
If based off the definition of a “law-abiding resident,” as the Dream Act website said could be in the bill, then all illegal immigrants have by definition broken it.
But no official guidelines are present yet, according to the Dream Act website.
Also, who will pay for all illegal immigrants who suddenly enroll in colleges to become citizens?
Taxpayers? Probably.
Not to mention, in some cases it’s impossible to certify how long an illegal immigrant has been in the U.S.
How can illegal immigrants gain citizenship for two years in the military when, according to the Army and Navy websites, certain military positions need citizenship or a green card to begin with?
On one hand, most illegal immigrants have no plans to go back to their countries, but at the same time the illegal immigrants are unemployable by law.
So do we give someone the education and tools to be more productive in society’s work force, or will illegal immigrants end up more frustrated than before despite the new help?
Until all questions for this bill have been answered, I’d stay away from this pile.
