Senate Republicans are preparing to fight against the DREAM Act in the lame duck Congress
Barack Obama has called for the Congress to pass the DREAM Act during the lame duck session–calling it a down payment on comprehensive immigration reform–and Harry Reid has promised the lame duck senate will hold a vote on this controversial issue. Republicans are now gearing up to fight this insidious legislation and Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions has been disseminating a report that highlights exactly how this bill would affect illegal immigration.
The DREAM Act is being billed by the liberals in the Congress as a means to grant children who were brought here illegally by their parents a pathway to citizenship. Proponents of this legislation claim that we cannot hold crimes perpetrated by parents in bringing their children here illegally against these children. After all, these children had no say in the matter when they were brought to the United States, therefore it is not their fault they are here illegally in the first place.
But this bill goes beyond naturalizing the children who were brought here illegally by their parents. This bill would also make these children eligible for in state tuition rates even though there are residing in these states illegally, and would make them eligible for federal monies. It may not be the fault of the children that they are here illegally, but that doesn’t mean they should gain privileges that are unavailable to many AMERICAN citizens and their children.
“In addition to immediately putting an estimated 2.1 million illegal immigrants (including certain criminal aliens) on a path to citizenship, the DREAM Act would give them access to in-state tuition rates at public universities, federal student loans and federal work-study programs”
But that is not all, it gets worse.
The paper adds that those who obtain legal status under the DREAM Act would have the right to seek naturalization for their family members, including the parents who illegally brought them to the U.S. as children
America's Watchtower 
I think the Democrats may be getting desperate, knowing full well their days of complete and total control over what comes out of Congress are limited. I really don’t like the idea of the DREAM Act becoming law. It would be a disaster for our immigration policy.
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I agree with you and Larry. I wonder. IF – big IF – it is passed, isn’t there a delay period before it is enacted? So even if it is passed, couldn’t the incoming Republicans kill it/repeal it? Just wondering.
I don’t want it to pass but I was just curious.
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The Republicans aren’t going to be able to repeal anything. Even if they pass repeal measures on this and healthcare reform the president will veto the repeal bill and they do not have the votes to over-ride a veto. The answer is in the funding–all funding bills must start in the House and if the House refuses to fund this or healthcare it will be DOA.
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They are desperate and they are going to try to pass as much of their liberal agenda as possible before the new Congress convenes. We can’t let them get away with this.
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I think the Democrats see the writing on the wall. They know all too well that they overreached in the 111th and Americans soundly rejected their leftist policies. They know that the only way to level the playing field is to bring in new constituents. I still don’t believe this bill has a snowball chance in h*ll of passing, but you never know. There are plenty of RINOs just waiting to chime in.
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If the Dems, by some horrible happenstance, pass this, I think the American people will truly revolt. That would be an absolute slap in our face. On top of everything else they have done.
As far as Republicans go, any of them who vote for this should be voted out when there time comes up like Snowe and Collins!
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I think you are right, this would be the straw that finally broke the camel’s back. The American people would not stand for this. And yes, any Republican who votes for this should never see the halls on the Congress again!
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I think you are right, they know they overreached and are losing voters fast, they need to do something and they fell this will get them new voters. They question is, will it alienate enough voters to offset the new voters they bring in?
I don’t think this bill is going to pass either, but we must watch closely.
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“The liberals attempt to pull at the heartstrings of Americans by claiming that these people had no choice and were not duplicitous in the decision to come to this country illegally, therefore they should not be punished with deportation”
I hate to sound callous, but to hell with em. I am tired of us being the only country that seems to be held to some impossible humanitarian standard. Sometimes life ain’t fair. Your parents thought they could get over on the system, sorry pal, all you punks can go back to Guatemala. You don’t like it, try staying in your country and changing their freaking laws for a change, instead of ruining mine.
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AMEN!
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wow you say you hate to sound callous but that’s obviously not the case. You love to be callous and nasty. These were little children, some brought to this country as infants. Many didn’t even find they weren’t citizens until they were older and started applying for their drivers license. They go to American schools, many speak only English and have no rememberance of this place you tell them is their country. If you’ve been here since you were two than this IS your country. I’m sorry but your attitude towards these people is absolutely disgusting. You don’t even view them as people and you have no idea about what it is to be humanitarian.
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Jennifer, the blame is on the parents for what they have done. They alone should be held responsible. It is up to them to make things right, not me, not Steve, not any American. Why should we have to take on the burden of someone that not only came here illegally, but brought their whole family, as well. That is what is “disgusting”, as you put it. I don’t know what it is going to take for others to realize that illegal is just plain illegal.
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While my liberal impulses say we should not hold the kids accountable for the crimes of the parents I think allowing the DREAM Act to become law would set a bad precedent in dealing with illegal immigration. So I’m with you on this one though with reservations.
But let me ask a different question about illegal immigrants: is there a clear path for immigration for illegals or non-citizens who serve in the military? As I understand it legal immigrants who are not citizens can enlist and immediately begin an expedited process toward citizenship. I’m not sure if that includes immediate family. Illegals however cannot serve in the military. But what if they walked into the recruitment office and wanted to sign up for a 2-3 year stint. Should we allow that? Of course that raises the question of just opening a recruiting station in Mexico City which is stupid and perhaps they’re the same thing. What do you think?
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But let me ask a different question about illegal immigrants: is there a clear path for immigration for illegals or non-citizens who serve in the military?
The answer to that would be no. We have to know that the people serving in the military are loyal to America.
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It is an interesting question and one that I have thought about before, but I am still not sure about it. A great way for a person to show that they have come to America because they really want to be an American would be for them to join the military and defend our country, but I have reservations based on what Dominique said. How do we know that these illegals are truly interested in defending America and do not have some other ulterior motive for joining the military?
I still haven’t decided which side of this issue I fall on just yet.
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Actually, unless things have changed since I was in, that isn’t my position but the military position. A great example for not allowing them to serve would be the Mulsim Army guy in Texas who killed 13 of our soldiers.
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Good point Dominique. This policy could open up the door to more of those types of attacks.
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Tick tock, tick tock. Time is running out. Obama’s latest approval rating sinks to 39. Even Sayah could beat him now. How many Dems will be willing to walk the plank for him? But then again, self destruction hasn’t seemed to bother them up to now.
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As Obama’s approval rating falls I think more and more Democrats will abandon him. That is what make this lame duck session so dangerous, many Democrats no longer have anything to lose.
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You know, we keep saying that, but that would be the rational response to his numbers falling. I don’t think these really progressive Dems are being rational.
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This is just the latest examples of the Democrats saying FU to the American people. The fact is, they want a couple million more voters.
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They need those voters because they are losing votes every day and they need to find new voters somewhere. This needs to be stopped at all costs.
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Republicans do not have the votes to stop it. Harry Reid threatened to illegally use reconciliaton to ram through the healthcare fiasco, and he could do the same here. It is so easy to falsify when an illegal alien got here that this amounts to amnesty for anyone willing to break the law even further with false documentation. A reward for particularly devious.
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Good point, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and Barack Obama have shown that they will stop at nothing in order to pass their radical agenda. They will do whatever it takes to pass this as well. You made another point that I hadn’t even though about: what is to stop all those that are in the country illegally from obtaining falsified documents that they need proving when they entered the country?
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So I see a lot of individuals on this page against the proposed bill. What are your suggestions for these individuals? Many of these children were brought here as infants and have spent their entire lives in America. Many weren’t even aware of what their parents had done and their status until well into their adulthood or teenage years. Do you guys really think it’s humanitarian to ship them off to a country they don’t know, when they have been here 95% of their lives or more? Instead of gripping and saying you don’t support this bill, what do you guys think would be a good solution? Would you accept the bill without certain things in it?
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