Coffee Party USA on the DREAM Act
Click to viewAbove video also posted at the Coffee Party USA's website, where it accompanies Eric Byler's post DREAM Act students' video Christmas card to the U.S. Senate
The shifting debate over The DREAM Act illustrates one of the themes of 9500 Liberty and the Coffee Party - that a fact-based, solutions-oriented approach to collective decision making can supersede blind partisanship when we focus on the facts instead of the fight.
70% of Americans support the DREAM Act. If enacted, it would offer six years of residential status for young people who are in every way "American," but were brought to the U.S. as children without proper legal status. After ten years, they could apply for a green card if they have completed two years of college or two years of honorable service in the U.S. military. And, after acquiring a green card, they could apply for citizenship.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates this measure would reduce our deficit by $1.4 billion over the next 10 years due to increased tax revenue. A recent study by UCLA’s North American Integration and Development Center estimated that $1.4 TRILLION over 40 years in income would be generated by DREAM Act beneficiaries. And, America's military leaders advocate for the DREAM Act because it would significantly increase the pool of recruits qualified to defend our nation.
Despite bipartisan support for the DREAM Act, the irrational ugliness we are seeing in opposition is a manifestation of widening division within the Republican party between pragmatists and extremists. Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) is a co-sponsor of the DREAM Act. In today's Washington Post, Republican columnist Michael Gerson urges his party to support the DREAM Act, writing:
"The choice here is not between the presence of these young immigrants and their absence. No one is proposing the mass deportation of this particular group, which would be last on the target list of even the most enthusiastic immigration restrictionist. The actual choice is between allowing these young men and women to develop their talents and serve in the military, or not."
And Illinois' former governor, also a Republican, begins his outstanding editorial:
"A rational approach to comprehensive immigration reform should begin with the young people who were brought here as babies, toddlers and adolescents."
Passing the DREAM Act would be a significant step for our Congress, proving that it is possible for elected leaders to vote in the nation's best interest, even if a small fragment of the nation is vociferously against it. (I compare it to young parents who learn to say no to their children if necessary, even when they make a fuss).
2 on-line tools to make your voice heard:
We can help Congress cast the vote they know is best for America. How? By giving our Senators a call and providing a rational, fact-based voice to balance out a minority of reactionaries who oppose this common-sense measure. Call your Senator's office, and, even if you get an answering machine, say something like this:
"Please vote for the DREAM Act. It will help grow our economy by allowing an estimated 2.1 million people to stay in this country and contribute up to their highest potential, and it will improve our national security by encouraging qualified and patriotic young people to serve. Most importantly, it will show that Congress has the courage and integrity to respond to our nation's need for immigration reform."
CLICK HERE to find the phone number for your U.S. Senator.
Or, call your Senator by CLICKING HERE and participating in this cell phone campaign by Reform Immigration for America. Just enter your cell phone and zip and you'll be connected to the offices of your representatives in Congress.
Or if you prefer, Americas Voice offers this easy to use system for sending faxes: CLICK HERE.
Immigration policy questions are not a Republican vs. Democrat fight, nor a white vs. Hispanic fight. With courage and leadership, the immigration issue can unite America.