Monday, March 23, 2009

An American DREAMer


As I wrote the previous post about the film "Welcome" - a movie about a young Kurdish boy trying to get to the U.K. so he can get an education, I mentioned the idea of an "American DREAMer."  

What is an American DREAMer?  He or she is a young person, born in a country other than the U.S., who lives here, attends college, but does not have official permission to be in this country.  Why would I call him/her American?  Because he/she has probably been here for a decade, speaks English like the rest of us, listens to American Rock Music (or Rap), goes to the cineplex to see movies like "The Dark Knight," and whose affiliation and loyalty are to this country, the only one they consciously remember.

American DREAMers are not here to hurt American citizens.  They are here to work and go to school.  American DREAMers are not known to commit crimes, they work extremely hard to gather money for their college tuition, often times having jobs that keep them from sleeping the normal amount of hours required to maintain good health.

American DREAMers are willing to work hard to reach their goals.  They have special motivation.  Most of the time the main goal of their professional careers is to help their parents, who are usually in the U.S. and are undocumented like their children.

For American DREAMers, completing college is like swimming across the English Channel.  It's an almost impossible task that risks their health and well-being.  But as they keep swimming, they don't lose hope.  They know they can make it to the other side. 

We could make it easier for them by supporting the DREAM Act and reasonable Comprehensive Immigration Reform.

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