Yes of course, why wouldn't a majority of older men want to give visas to young, hot and glamorous supermodels? You think we should band together and form a 24-7-type fitness ring to achieve supermodel bodies? Oh wait, I can't do anything about my height Crap!

This is screwed up. Utterly and completely.

Thanks for your kind comments and support Anis and Bri.

I forgot to mention that I used to run the 9-11 hotline for non-profits like the NLG. Basically, the 9-11 hotline is a service where people who were being harassed by the FBI as a direct result of 9-11 would call to get help. So I have heard and help document about 336(conservative estimate since sometimes we could not help or document) horror stories surrounding issues of freedom of expression, and other civil liberties.

That does not mean I don't enjoy the civil rights and liberties available to me today -- I am simply stating that we can do much better and we must set a better example.

Encouraging DREAMers to self-deport is analogous to watching your investments fly away without any returns--really bad policy-making. Students will do what they think is best for them. If I was 18 without higher education or any promise of legal residency, I would probably self-deport but each situation is different. The sad thing is that the fear of the unknown would ensure that most would stick to the USA and continue living in the shadows of society.

Btw - Esperanza is not a fugitive. The most she is guilty of is a misdemeanor--illegal presence is not a crime.

I think 3 degrees, 2 in the field of of political science and international relations qualifies me to write a book on subjects that I am quite educated in, my dissertation being on national security. Of course, people without any degrees write books too.

Leaving USA would be absolutely detrimental. That would mean a 10 year ban, not being able to handle my family's business, living in an environment that is homophobic and intolerant, not to mention risking my life in the event of another civil war. I am willing to compromise--I don't want U.S. citizenship as much as I need to be legalized so I can take my skills to a country that is more tolerant and would allow me full civil rights. It is true -- I did not chose to come here but now that I am confined here due to an undocumented status, the best option for my family is to keep me here till DREAM passes or I get legal permanent residency in 2 years.

And I don't ever dispute that immigrant scapegoating increases in times of economic downturns.

Here, we are talking about the judiciary. Find me recent court decisions that dispute instate-tuition for undocumented students and then you can have some ground to speak.

Do not link me with DAP -- It is a site that I do not stand by and has a mod/admin that I do not necessarily support. When I said you won't find me at DAP, that was true in light of the timeframe--I haven't been a regular at DAP for months now and post once in a blue moon.

Since "I" have no credibility and since you have plenty of time on your hand, why don't you also post some comments from "Ma Graduate" whining about Fiji? Unless of course your statements are blatantly false. Anyway, I thought the whole point of DAP discussion was to show how dreamers and even I have been "whining" about America? Have you done that? No, just simply used personal attacks as a way to disparage and degrade credible and otherwise true arguments. Nothing about what you post directly refutes any of the claims made against ALIPAC in this post.

1. You won't find me at DREAM Act Portal.

2. Do not generalize all "illegal immigrants" or undocumented students as a homogenous entity. You will find some rabidly Republican and anti-gay DREAMers especially at DAP where the Admin and Mods are on the more moderate to conservative side and the students much young. The Dream Act Portal serves as a "social network" more than anything else -- BNF and ADreamDeferred is not associated with that site.

3. I will be very interested in the questions and comments of disenfranchised, stateless teenage students trying to find their place in the only country that they know as home. But they do not represent the viewpoints of undocumented students on THIS site.

Yes, we are lagging behind -- but did I say lagging behind Canada? No, I actually said Western civilization, because we are indeed on critical issues. Can you really justify how we are the only post-industrial nation-state without universal health care? It's obvious you didn't even read or comprehend my post.

I can write an entire book on how 9-11 has made us less "free" as a country but unfortunately, that has been done many times over. I am sure as a concerned American, you are aware of the unconstitutional snooping, spying, harassing of law-abiding individuals; the redefinition of 'terrorist' in a manner that makes illegal the most careful forms of dissent; the secret hearings, detentions, extraordinary renditions, torture and suspension of due-process rights of non-citizens...the list is endless. But just yesterday a school newspaper was shut down after printing a photo of someone burning an American flag. I am not saying we are not a relatively free country or less free than anyone else--I will however say that there are grounds for improvement and I don't want my country to lag behind anyone.

You think "equal rights and treatment" of homosexual couples is infringing on your rights -- how is that not an absurdly heterosexist and homophobic comment? I could say that limiting certain rights to straight people is infringing on my freedom of expression and freedom of association and oh...the Supreme Court of California agrees.

On one hand you say we have free speech and on another you contradict yourself saying granting civil and human rights to all in infringing on your freedom of expression, insinuating your freedom to hate homosexuals. What is it--do we have free speech or not? Make up your mind. Your entire post is leaking with performative contradictions.

Do you have anything intelligent to say or anything to do online besides trying to demean and degrade students? Your comments don't make me angry; I love reading anti-gay and anti-student comments - makes me feel good about myself that people who don't even know me can hate my existence. Because that is truly sad and most amusing to me.

Laurie-Anne, just like you I will also become a legal permanent resident and citizen of this country, which is my home. There is really nothing you can say or do that would change that fact or make me think/believe otherwise. It is only a matter of time.

Considering my parents are legal permanent residents, I will have a U.S. passport one day, even without the DREAM Act. For now, I am only interested in legalization.

We Dreamers are invested in this country, we love and hate it, work hard, study hard and try to live as best we can within its borders. If we passed each other in the street or stood in line together at Dunkin Donuts, we would not know the difference and many of those who hate and oppose us "illegals" wouldn't be able to tell either. To be an American is to be invested in this country, to live through its trials and embrace its triumphs. Even though my country of birth defines my ethnic background, it is only a part of my cultural identity. Citizenship is artificial; In my own heart I am an American with or without the papers.1

The ICE is not about to round up and deport undocumented students. Most students are getting deportation orders delayed because legislators recognize the absurdity and inhumanity of deporting American students to foreign countries.

The DREAM Act is inevitable as is our eventual legalization. All your hating and opposition cannot stop it from becoming reality because we are on the right side of history.

The USA is our country.

Your posts are performative contradictions. We are not supposed to feel entitled to stay after EARNING citizenship, contributing to our local and state economies and beating the odds while doing so, but you are entitled to act rabidly xenophobic just due to birthright?

Please provide warrants for how DREAMers are threatening the sovereignty of this country.

Also, most DREAMERs have not broken any laws--the CIVIC violation of illegal presence does not trigger till after 18. If we don't put people in jail for traffic tickets, why are we ruining the entire lives of our talented K-12 investments? Sounds hypocritical and bad policy to me and even the Supreme Court.

The DREAM Act is a wonderful piece of legislation that recognizes the absurdity of punishing children and young adults for the alleged transgressions of their parents. It upholds the principles of our legal justice system that "legal burdens should bear some relationship to individual responsibility or wrongdoing" (U.S. Supreme Court in Plyler v. Doe) These students are educated, well-adjusted, assimilated and above-all, American. DREAM provides a path to legalization, a chance for these students to adjust their status and fully integrate them into society.

If you think DREAMers are going to self-deport themselves to foreign countries, you are probably the one dreaming.

Hello, did you just migrate from the anti-migrant sphere or the anti-gay one? I cannot decide but maybe they are not mutually exclusive.

1. Please point out where I said the United States should be like Canada. The most I said was that the U.S. is lagging behind in critical issues like universal health care, welfare reform and same-sex couples rights when compared to Western civilization, insinuating post-industrial societies. It is sad when post-apartheid South Africa allows same-sex marriage and the U.S.A--standing for freedom and liberty for all-treats its own citizens and taxpayers as second-class. Shame on us.

2. Free speech...LOL. Americans shouldn't be bragging about their freedom of speech right now in light of the attack on our constitutional liberties post 9-11.

3. I actually say that both Canada and America are struggling to come to terms with their immigration policies regarding undocumented students. Never do I insinuate that Canada is doing a better job. Next time, try to read before commenting. It helps you not look like a complete moron.

4. The fact that you get to make homophobic and heterosexist comments on this blog directly contradicts your last point.

5. Your last post actually proves my central point --"we are more alike than different" in US/Canada indeed. Thank you for proving more empirical evidence proving my point.

6. Your entire first post is severely misguided.

1. Don't make claims without warrants. It gets you nowhere and is a weak argumentation tactic. Where is the anti-American hating? If freedom of speech, equality of opportunity, due process rights are anti-American for you, than you really need to rethink the foundation of our country.

2. I don't see what this post has to do with hating America or the United States. I also don't buy into 'double-binds.' We can love this country and criticize its misguided foreign policies--there is absolutely no shame and nothing wrong in doing so.

3. I also see no evidence on your part about how undocumented students are using America as a "personal ATM." My parents pay far more in taxes than we reap in public services. If anything, the U.S.--especially big business and agriculture--are making profits and reaping net benefits on our backs.

P.S. If anyone needs more info or is curious about the xenophobia and anti-Latino hatred spewed by ALIPAC members, ALIPAC.net has a Watching the Watchmen forum that is updated frequently -
http://www.alipac.net/bored/index.php?topic=4.0

The problem with your analogy is that Arthur cannot be held responsible for being in this country and therefore he should not be punished for it. At this point, he hasn't even accrued any illegal presence--he is guilty of no criminal or civil violations whatsoever.

The Supreme Court of the United States wrote in Plyler v. Doe:
"Even if the State found it expedient to control the conduct of adults by acting against their children, legislation directing the onus of a parent's misconduct against his children does not comport with fundamental conceptions of justice.
[V]isiting . . . condemnation on the head of an infant is illogical and unjust. Moreover, imposing disabilities on the . . . child is contrary to the basic concept of our system that legal burdens should bear some relationship to individual responsibility or wrongdoing. Obviously, no child is responsible for his birth and penalizing the . . . child is an ineffectual - as well as unjust - way of deterring the parent." Weber v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co., 406 U.S. 164, 175 (1972)

P.S. Can you edit the article to include her full name -- it helps with the search engine.

Thank you :(

Perpetual war on immigrant students ... How many of us are they going to deport and how many lives will they ruin in this misguided attempt to appear tough on illegal immigration?

1. What you propose is not about to happen.

2. I want you to list the names of DREAM Act students that you call "terrorists." DO NOT make claims without warrants. No undocumented student that benefits from DREAM is a criminal or terrorist. Quit fear-mongering and playing politics with the lives of innocent students.

Dear thedailyphosdex, while I appreciate the history lesson, I am not sure what that has to do with breaking down the dichotomy between legal/illegal as this report does? As you can see by the post and some remarks, people still think in those dualities, and breed hatred/resentment against one label over another when truly it is not a constant, fixed stable identity.

JE - What's your opinion on ALIPAC.us seething over this report?

LOL. I cannot believe you would have the audacity to even bother defending the hate speech of your organization and of course you start off in the most offensive way -- "your daddy" = ALIPAC ?? It really does not lend any credibility to anything you say.

I will give that you are smart enough to moderate most of the hate trash on your forums and not openly condone it but you do slip at times.

1. Killing undocumented migrants as a joke is a very sick sense of humor don't you agree? I actually don't see how that can be funny. And in your post, you don't oppose armed citizens enforcing immigration law--you simply state that they would be too stupid to do so. There are enough places where you have condoned legal American citizens owning guns to defend themselves and left the interpretation of that up to the reader. We don't need any more hints.

2. Your speech is pure racism and anyone else reading your reference to Mexican-Americans building a community as "colonization" would agree. The fact that you don't see it, shows the deep-seated racism and hatred that you harbor for "immigrants of color."

3. You are really trying hard to wiggle out of this one by separating stems of your fear-mongering hate-speak. Can you point out credible demographers who use the discourse of "white race EXTINCTION" as a way of pointing out the changing demographics of this country? No, it is a popular neo-Nazi speech act.

4-5 is demonstrates that all the ALIPAC whining and excuses about not hating immigrants but hating illegal immigrants is untrue. You are a moving target in this case. On one hand you defend ALIPAC and insist on just being against illegal immigration and on the other hand, you distance yourself and ALIPAC from the hateful, racist comments in its form.
Time and again, ALIPAC and its members state that they do not litter the web with hate speech against migrants but it is simply untrue. The daily anti-Latino comments at ALIPAC does represent the membership of the group. The fact that you allow some of that discourse in your forums is proof-enough. If your organization was purely against illegal immigration, your membership would not be full of vile, hateful people who hate the very idea of diversity and anything other than English only. The atmosphere at ALIPAC is not conducive to pro-ethnic groups regardless of immigraton status. Period.

On the ALIPAC forums people routinely spread lies. More than a few times people have brought up a ficticious 2006 INS/FBI report that contains a list of falsities about illegal immigrants. Over and over and over again they bring up a lies started by Rep. Steve King that illegal aliens kill 25 Americans each day. On April 18, 2008 in the ALIPAC forum you wrote that legal immigrants are required to know some English. This is false. The lie originated by Cosman and made popular by Lou Dobbs that there have suddenly been 7,000 cases of leprosy over the past three years is routinely spread on the ALIPAC forums. Oh, and you pay a tribute to Cosman later--another lying hatemonger. The list goes on. This was just a small snippet.