Running Head: Analysis of the DREAM ACT

Analysis of the DREAM ACT

Kent A. Penigar
University of Wisconsin

Analysis of the DREAM ACT

2
What is the policy issue?

Immigration has been a divisive issue in the United States for many years. Chomsky
(2007, p. xiv). Spanish speaking individuals from Mexico and Latin America have a long history
of working in the agricultural and service industries for low-wages. . These laborers became
dominant in the agricultural economy of California, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and Arkansas,
and played minor roles in 20 other states. Culp and Umbarger 2004).In the past, conservative or
just outright racist individuals have objected to the workers presence for a variety of reasons.
Some claimed the workers were taking advantage of social services at the expense of taxpayers.
Others accused them of displacing U.S. workers. Still others feared the migrants were drawing
wealth out of the US economy. The ethnocentric complaint was that they were ruining our way
of life by bringing their customs, and language. Schwab (2013, p. 13).
Despite these and other complaints, undocumented workers continued to come, driven by
necessity and the lure of a good life for their families. They bore the stress, the hard work and the
rick because of their status. He knows that to cross the desert means risking his life but he also
knows that life is worthless without enough to eat, without a place to live, without something to
do with his hands and mind. He has to cross, he says. There is no other choice that he can make.
Stout(2008).They brought their families and sent their children to school. Things changed after
September 11 2001.
Many in the United States may still flinch at the sight of images of destruction captured
during the famous attacks on 9/11/2001.The event shattered the illusion of safety previously held
by millions of Americans. The entire nation was in a trance full of nationalistic fervor, a lust for
revenge. They awoke from their dream filled with xenophobic angst. Some began to associate all
undocumented immigrants with foreign terrorists. After all, they were brown and spoke a
different language. With righteous indignation, politicians climbed on the popular band wagon

Analysis of the DREAM ACT

promising to secure our borders by stemming the flow of undocumented immigrants across the
border. With the help of politicians, and ethnocentric organizations, many U.S. citizens came to
view all undocumented immigrants as the embodiment of evil itself. Hauptman (2013,p. 125).
The issue is that innocent children of undocumented immigrants suffer at the hands of
policy makers. They should benefit from their hard work as responsible students and workers,
yet they cannot. Instead, they have lived in fear. Current immigration laws threaten them with the
loss of home and family if they are discovered. At the least, they would see their families
separated across the vast divide of the U.S. borders and beyond. Stern-faced politicians and
duped citizens demand that the students leave the country and wait for an opportunity to apply
for naturalization, a process that would take years with little or no chance of success. They have
essentially been assimilated into United States culture, but denied the right to become legal
permanent residents. They worked their way to college; they struggle to pay their way .They
asked for change, an open the door to their place in society. Schwaab (2013).
When did this issue come onto the social agenda?
Under President Bush in 2001. Senator Orrin Hatch and Patrick Leahy sponsored a bipartisan bill
It was the DREAM act S.1291, which is the focus of this analysis. The bill would have benefited
children of undocumented immigrants who legally received an education pursuant to Pylor v.
Doe, met other eligibility requirements testifying to their good character, or served in the US
military for at least two years. Congress has rejected every form of the bill. Senator Durbin
remarked, They make America a stronger country. We should extend a welcoming hand to them
by passing the DREAM Act this year. These young people cannot wait any longer--many of
them will have been deported by the time the next session of Congress begins.(Dream act.2004.
Offered by Mr Durbin).

Analysis of the DREAM ACT

Why this is considered a social problem?

First this is a social problem by the basic definition that it affects people. The particular
effect is a tragic one. If we are to believe Mr. Durbins statement in the congressional record,
innocent people who were socialized and educated by this culture. They trusted in the system
they learned about in school. They trusted high ranking politicians, pleading to them to respond
to their need for immigration reform. Instead of receiving relief based firmly on the principles of
the Equal protection Clause, they were treated as criminals. They were deported. Ironically, Pyler
v. Doe determined they were innocent of the crime their parents committed. Yet, their passage
into adulthood changed their status to that of illegal immigrants, guilty and deportable. The
United States appears to have failed the brave students that brought the problem to light. Since
the infamous event of 9/11/2001, some in Congress reflect public distrust of anyone deemed to
be un-American, including undocumented immigrants. It is manifested in their rejection of
immigration reform.
Social workers face a dilemma when assisting individuals such as the students in
question. As citizens bound by the rule of law they must avoid condoning criminal behavior. One
might wonder then how they should respond to knowledge of undocumented aliens in a climate
where failure to report them is itself a crime. At the same time, they are a obliged to protect the
confidentiality of the clients (NASW Code of Ethics, 1.07) and to take action to effect change for
social justice through political action (NASW Code of Ethics, 6.04). Therefore it is imperative
that Social workers continue to push for Immigration reform, with an eye toward enhancing the
lives of people such as these innocent offspring of undocumented Immigrants.

Analysis of the DREAM ACT

5
Policy Responses to the Issue

From 2001 to 2015, multiple presentations of the dream act failed to pass. Republicans gained
sufficient power to block it. Obama used his executive powers to create some basic conditions of
the DREAM act. It caused much excitement. However, it only offered temporary allowance to
remain in the country if one applied for the program. Furthermore, Obama still had the task of
convincing Congress to fund the bill. Its components include the following:
Innocent undocumented person were eligible if they:
1. Came to the United States under the age of sixteen; 2. Have continuously resided in the United
States for at least five years preceding the date of this memorandum and are present in the United
States on the date of this memorandum; 3. Are currently in school, have graduated from high
school, have obtained a general education development certificate, or are honorably discharged
veterans of the Coast Guard or Armed Forces of the United States; 4. Have not been convicted of
a felony offense, a significant misdemeanor offense, multiple misdemeanor offenses, or
otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safety; 5. Are not above the age of thirty
Schwab (2013, p. 7).
The purpose of the DREAM ACT is to provide a way for innocent, productive
undocumented immigrants to become legal permanent residents and citizens of the United States.
A social worker might wish to advocate for stronger language, and better benefits. In order to
truly help the populations in question, immunity should be assured and citizenship should be
certain. It may be difficult to persuade the staunch conservative members of Congress to agree to
that.

Analysis of the DREAM ACT

Perhaps Republicans saw immigrants as a political as well as a terrorist

threat. They resisted Obamas initiative. Schwab(2013). Republican senator
Dan Vitter sponsored a bill called, A bill to prohibit aliens who are not
lawfully present in the United States from being eligible for postsecondary
education benefits that are not available to all citizens and nationals of the
United States. S.60 of 114th Congress. It is a bill to punish the students
targeted by the DREAM ACT.
A common argument policy makers made against the DREAM act was
that the students were illegal alien, in violation of the law because they are
undocumented. Therefore the critics of the DREAM act maintain it would be
rewarding illegal behavior to pass the bill. However, many of these students
have a less than perfect grasp on the language and culture of their former
homeland. And while they may be undocumented her, they are also
undocumented in their so-called homeland. Chomsky(2007). Concerning
their argument that the students are violating the law, it seems
unreasonable to conclude that their right to Equal Protection under the law
ended once they became adults. Schwab (2013).In response to Republican
resistance, President Obama applied prosecutorial discretion by executive
directive to create the conditions of the Dream Act. The response to that was
a bill called HR.38, Preventing Executive Overreach on Immigration Act of
2015. Opponents challenged the action in the Supreme Court claiming the
president lacked the constitutional power to make the directive.

Analysis of the DREAM ACT

Conclusion:
The Children of undocumented Immigrants await the judgment of
Congress. Much of their sense of identity, peace and security depend on
what eventually happens to the DREAM ACT of 2001. That is why the DREAM
act is the focus of this policy analysis.

Analysis of the DREAM ACT

References
Chacon, O. (2011). Globalization, Obsolete and Inhumane Migratory Policies, and Their Impact
on Migrant Workers and Their Families in the North and Central American/Caribbean
Region. Journal Of Poverty, 15(4), 465-474. doi:10.1080/10875549.2011.615616
Culp, K., & Umbarger, M. (2004). Seasonal and migrant agricultural workers: a neglected work
force
Chomsky, A.(2007). They take our jobs! Boston: Beacon Press
Development, relief, and education for alien minors act, Cong. Rec. S13300- S13306 (daily ed.
October 24, 2007)( Statement of Mr Durbin)
Hauptman, S. (2013). Criminalization of Immigration: The Post 9/11 Moral Panic. El Paso, TX,
USA: LFB Scholarly Publishing LLC. Retrieved from http://www.ebrary.com
Schwab, W. A. (2013). Right to DREAM : Immigration Reform and America's Future.
Fayetteville, AR, USA: University of Arkansas Press. Retrieved from
http://www.ebrary.com
S. 1291, 107th cong. (2001)
Stout, R. J. (2008). Why Immigrants Come to America : Braceros,
Indocumentados, and the Migra. Westport, Conn: