One of the most controversial pieces of American legislation in recent years has been the Dream Act, or the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act. The purpose of this law is to allow families to stay together in the United States, rather than deporting some on the basis of citizenship and splitting up families, and to give immigrants the right to the same tuition standards as their citizen peers. This law did not pass on the federal level but is in existence in some form in 20 states (USA Today 2015). Indeed some universities have decided to admit the undocumented anyway (Gordon, 2016). There are many minors who end up in the United States who are not citizens, whether they have come to the country on their own or have come with their parents who are also not citizens, and there is a significant dispute as to whether they should be able to have access to the American educational system. I HAVE BEEN A VICTIM OF THIS BECAUSE I COULD NOT STUDY AS I WAS AN IMMIGRANT ONCE. I COME FROM A DEMOCRATIC COUNTRY AND HAVE A DEMOCRATIC MENTALITY. On the one side are people who believe that citizens are the only ones who should have access to this system because of the expenses involved; their argument centers on the notion that we should take care of our citizens first and not put forth money to take care of others because they will stretch the system beyond what it can take. On the other side are those who argue that we should be compassionate toward alien children and give them the best that we can. Their parents do fund the education system with their taxes, either through the rent they pay (which goes to the landlord who pays property taxes) or through other tax venues that their state uses to fund the school system. The Dream Act is going to have an effect on the economy, which is an important topic for consideration.
While some people believe that the influx of aliens is going to be a drain on the economy, it does not make sense that having more people is going to suck money out of the economy. After all, people have to spend money wherever they are, as they have to find places to live and feed themselves, and as they build up a degree of comfort their spending spreads to other areas (cell phone service, entertainment, shopping, and the like), and that money goes into the local tax base through sales taxes.
When immigrants enter a community, they take on jobs that others had not yet filled. On one hand, this can be abusive, because employers who pay immigrants under the table in cash are not paying the proper unemployment taxes – and they are also often paying below the minimum wage, so they are taking advantage of the immigrant and the taxpayer alike, because the taxpayer ends up having to cover more of the unemployment fund than he would have because there is an employer and an immigrant cheating the system. It is more appropriate to find fault with the employer in this instance because he is the one underpaying his employee and defrauding the government.
The minors who benefit from this law will emerge from school more prepared to contribute to society and to the economy than they would have otherwise. It makes no sense to have legions of young people who are idle and not preparing themselves for a profession in the country, and it is not realistic to plan to deport everyone who is illegal (let alone build that wall and send Mexico the bill). In a number of different ways, the Dream Act will benefit the economy, and American society in general.
Donald Trump believes that all undocumented individuals should be deported, and that the government should stop issuing green cards, at least for now (Desjardins and Boyd, 2015). In contrast, Hillary Clinton believes that the DAPA and DACA should be expanded so that deportations can be reduced. She believes in giving undocumented aliens residing in the United States a path to legal status and eventual citizenship (Wellford and Desjardins, 2015). So one could assume that Trump would oppose the Dream Act while Clinton might support it.
References
Desjardins, L. & Boyd, N. (2015). What does Donald Trump believe? Where the
candidate stands on 10 issues. PBS 16 June 2015. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/donald-trump-believe-candidate- stands-10-issues/
Gordon, L. (2016). While federal DREAM act stalls, some public universities
already welcome the undocumented. The Beachwood Reporter 12 April 2016. http://www.beachwoodreporter.com/politics/while_federal_dream_act_stalls_1.php
USA Today (2015). “Five Facts You Need to Know About the DREAM Act.” USA
Today 26 February 2015. http://college.usatoday.com/2015/02/26/5-facts-you-need-to-know-about-the-dream-act/
Wellford, R. & Desjardins, L. (2015). What does Hillary Clinton believe? Where
the candidate stands on 12 issues. PBS 10 April 2015. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/hillary-clinton-believe-candidate- stands-10-issues/
