Thursday, October 25, 2007

White House Statement on DREAM ACT 10 24 2007

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20503

October 24, 2007 (Senate)

STATEMENT OF ADMINISTRATION POLICY

S. 2205 - Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act of
2007

(Sen. Durbin (D) Illinois and two cosponsors)

The Administration continues to believe that the Nation's broken
immigration system requires comprehensive reform. This reform should
include strong border and interior enforcement, a temporary worker
program, a program to bring the millions of undocumented aliens out of
the shadows without amnesty and without animosity, and assistance that
helps newcomers assimilate into American society. Unless it provides
additional authorities in all of these areas, Congress will do little
more than perpetuate the unfortunate status quo.

The Administration is sympathetic to the position of young people who
were brought here illegally as children and have come to know the United
States as home. Any resolution of their status, however, must be careful
not to provide incentives for recurrence of the illegal conduct that has
brought the Nation to this point. By creating a special path to
citizenship that is unavailable to other prospective
immigrants-including young people whose parents respected the Nation's
immigration laws-S. 2205 falls short. The Administration therefore
opposes the bill.

The primary change wrought by S. 2205 would be to establish a
preferential path to citizenship for a special class of illegal aliens.
Specifically, S. 2205 awards permanent status to any illegal alien who
is under 30, has been in the United States for five years after arriving
as a child, and has completed two years of college or in the uniformed
services. This path to citizenship is unavailable to any other alien, no
matter how much promise he or she may have, no matter how much he or she
may contribute to American society. Moreover, the path that S. 2205
creates would allow illegal aliens to obtain a green card before many
individuals who are currently lawfully waiting in line.

Sponsors of S. 2205 argue that the bill is necessary in order to give
children who are illegal aliens incentives to obtain an education. But
it is difficult to reconcile that professed aim with the bill's
retroactivity provisions: even those who attended college years earlier
will be eligible for a green card.

The legal status that the bill grants its beneficiaries means that they
can petition almost instantly to bring family members into the country.
It also places them on the fast track to citizenship because they can
immediately begin accruing the residence time in the United States that
is necessary for naturalization. Finally, this legal status entitles the
bill's beneficiaries to certain welfare benefits within five years.

The bill is also indiscriminate in whom it would make eligible for the
program. For example,

S. 2205 includes loopholes that would authorize permanent status for
certain aliens convicted of multiple misdemeanors and even felonies.

The open-ended nature of S. 2205 is objectionable and will inevitably
lead to large-scale document fraud. The path to citizenship remains open
for decades, thus creating a strong temptation for future illegal aliens
to purchase fraudulent documents on a burgeoning black market. Moreover,
the bill's confidentiality provisions are drawn straight from the 1986
amnesty law and will provide the same haven for fraud and criminality as
that law did.

Immigration is one of the top concerns of the American people-and of
this Administration-but it needs to be addressed in a comprehensive and
balanced way that avoids creating incentives for problems in the future.

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