What kind of opportunity should we be given to escape our legal limbo?
The question does not get redundant or old, since on a daily basis, supporters and opponents alike express their opinions and argument ad infinitum et ad nauseam. The only way to iron out our differences is through contructive dialogue.
Some outright believe that we should not be given any "rights" because there is a so called "back of the line" where we can apply for legal residency. However, we have clarified that issue in many of our posts so far. There is no back of the line to help us adjust status. I'll even say that there are people who want us to disappear and never return to this country again. I still fail to understand such resentment.
Most of the people I talk to believe that there should be a way for us to adjust status, since we have been living in this country such a long time waiting for that opportunity. The DREAM Act is the closest legislation that would allow us to do so. Yet many people oppose it on various reasons. I quote from the Miami Herald below to show one way people oppose the DREAM Act:
The question is whether the system can ever accommodate "all qualified US citizens and residents." I can't deny that it is very difficult for all low income and even middle class families to afford a college education, especially in our era where earning a Bachelor's degree is almost essential to succeed as a professional. But I think that the DREAM Act addresses our specific issue--i.e. that we are not full members of society. We can't drive, we can't work, so we may just as well be at home twiddling our fingers.
So here is what people fail to understand: the DREAM Act primarily helps us to adjust our status. After that, we would be legal permanent residents eventually. So we would be included in that group of legal residents who should be given the opportunity to continue our education. This refutes the last part of the argument above--that we would be able to attend public universities UNCONDITIONALLY. There are conditions that must be met--we must adjust our status to be functional members of society. And to do so, one requires to have to wait even more until our cases are finally resolved.
Hey Lorelle,
Explain how children can be considered scumbags when they didn't even decide to come here in the first place. Dream_Advocate and the rest of the bloggers here came when they were children and they pretty much grew up here most of their lives. Here they grew in wisdom--here they met the people they love and care about--here they achieved the impossible. So... why not give them a chance to adjust their status?
And hey, even real criminals in this country get a second chance sometimes. Why shouldn't these students who came here and achieved great things?
The law is the law rhetoric is very bad. Just take a look at the Old Testament laws that condemn every single human being. No one is truly righteous and therefore we should love everyone. Everyone deserves a second chance.