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This would my first time writing about my status but I think I can bear it no longer. I am an undocumented alien in the US and I go to Duke University.
Recently I came across the FAIR Press Release that lists the arguments against the Dream Act. I’ll reproduce it here and show how these arguments are simply ridiculous. Americans should no longer be blindfolded by the darkness of the sugar-coated rhetoric. Be welcome to the light but painful truth of us 'illegal' youths:
Argument 1: Dream Act rewards parents who violated immigration laws through their children, and provide a powerful incentive for more illegal immigration.
The Dream Act only legalizes existing 'illegal aliens' currently residing in the US and who are within a certain age range. It does not apply for any future illegals. Yes, it might have encouraged more people coming to the US because it gives them the illusion that US immigration laws are loose. But what is most loose is not the Dream Act, it’s the gross ambiguity in United State’s current immigration policy. The US has never been decisive and committed to protecting its borders or in deterring illegals from entering. Immigration does not take place in a vacuum and 'illegal immigration' is certainly inextricably linked to the demand for cheap labor. Our justice system has never been objective in deciding which asylum cases to accept and which to reject. For example, I’ve seen so many affluent families coming to the States to give birth and have their kids growing up as US citizens. Is this fair? Aren’t they taking the same resources that illegals are taking? But do they really deserve everything US has to offer and illegal aliens are left in darkness, just because their parents are not rich enough? I have known some immigration judges who turn down 85% of the asylum cases (including mine) while other judges accept 90% of them (Link to study). Really? Are you serious? You see, really a lot of our fate depends on chance, and before US can justifiably say that it never rewards wrong-doing, it has to say it has been just in its immigration policies. I could have won the asylum case long time ago and go on with my life.
If you want consistency, take a look at the model of Hong Kong and Japan. Ten years ago, they legalized all the existing irregular immigrants in their region, but since then they’ve put in the most stringent laws to deter future immigration violations. It is really a change of perspective: We would respect the people already here, but we also need to send a firm, clear message to other nations that we do not tolerate any more illegal immigration. We will a humane act in legalizing, then we can (and justifiably) say that we can deport any future out of status immigrants back to their home country, because that way we will act with rationale, determination, and clarity. Yes, our borders are bigger than that of Japan or Hong Kong and we have a lot more people but it is still a much cleaner solution than the one we have. Status quo immigration laws allow people in deportation to 'voluntary departure' but most stay indefinitely. Think about it: what is better? Until US does something humane, it does not have any justification to something bold and daring.
Additionally, we are only talking about several hundred thousand youth here who could probably qualify under the DREAM Act and are spread out in 50 states to minimize any negative impacts. It is not like we are legalizing all the 'illegal aliens' who you might think are trouble-makers. You are getting the best of the crop, the greenest of your investment portfolio, and who will give the US more returns than anything you could ask for in the last 10 years.
Argument 2: Transfer seats and tuition subsidies to illegal aliens at a time when state higher education budgets are being slashed, admissions curtailed, and tuitions increased.
To me education against undocumented youth is the most ridiculous form of argument ever. I came here when I was 11 and since then I’ve given all of myself to learning. I got so far not because how smart I am or how hard I work, but I believe that only in America I can get what I deserve.
Here’s my life: I started learning the English alphabet at age 11. In three years, I enrolled in an all English school. By 10th grade I exhausted the math curriculum in my high school - I took AP calculus AB while I was taking Algebra 2 and got a 5. I took 15 AP exams at the end of my senior year, making me the only AP scholar male representative in my state. I won the state science fair and went on to International Science Fair. I did national math Olympiad. Heck, I even had a 2280/2400 on the SAT. None of my friends knew I was an 'illegal immigrant' and I did not tell anyone. To them, I was just someone normal, possibly someone who has a heart and wants to serve humanity. At Duke, I got A+’s in graduate level math and compsci classes (if you know anything about Duke, you know those classes are no jokes) and had offers from several top technology companies, but could I accept any of them? No, I respectfully declined them. You see, for all I care is this: I would be perfectly content if someone who is smarter than me and has worked harder than me gets a Microsoft job, even if he/she is illegal. Because he deserves it more than I do. Because he could change the world. And he would pay twice the tax he could have paid working in a restaurant. He could even support your children's education because he would be rich and would pay accordingly to his ability. Why can’t Americans think like that?
Argument 3: By broadly defining "student" it gives amnesty to large numbers of illegal aliens who may be pursing any sort of education.
Again wrong interpretation. The Dream Act only legalizes those who pursue two years of college education or military service, and only applies to people falling into an age range. It does not apply to anyone who is under 12 or above 35. The student in question MUST have been brought here before the age of 15 and have no criminal record. That provision eliminates a good majority of the undocumented population.
The DREAM Act applies to people who are currently graduating with honors from their high school, star athletes competing in NCAA, pianist prodigies who will rock your socks off in the concert, people attending UCLA Berkeley, Harvard, and Duke. They are brilliant, and there are more of those than you would ever dare to estimate. You are not just amnestying anyone; yes the brightest of us could go back to where we came from, whether it be Vietnam, Thailand, Mexico, England, China. But do you seriously think that would be a better thing for the US? If you don’t, then don’t use economics and pragmatism as your argument.
Argument 4: Accelerate chain migration and exponential population growth because illegal aliens who are granted green cards will be able to petition the Department of Homeland Security in the future to grant their parents and relatives legal status too.
To refute the last point, Damn Mexicans has raised two important issues:
If you catch someone saying this, flick their forehead for me, they have no comprehension of how current immigration laws work.
1) Only American citizens who are at least 21 and can prove they can financially support their parents can sponsor them for a green card. DREAMers will have to wait 6 years plus a few years of paperwork processing before they can become citizens.
2) More importantly, the parents they sponsor cannot have entered the country illegally. This would disqualify most parents.
Therefore, I am not so sure it would cause exponential population growth, but it might have a chance of causing exponential technological growth because if the people who are 'illegal' are motivated and smart enough to get to where they are, and if given the opportunity, they can do something very rewarding for America. This is our only way of paying back. All you need to do now, America, is lift the cap for the returns of your investment to pour in.
Originally posted here.
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