Paperless: DREAM Act Students in the NYTimes

The New York Times ran a long piece about students the DREAM Act would benefit last week, even though the writer made sure to point out the same lame arguments against the bill high up in the story.  Here’s an excerpt:

“Leslie’s “Undocumented” T-shirt, along with the rallies she attends and the lobbying she has done in Washington and Sacramento, is part of an effort to change her and other undocumented students’ lives through what’s known as the Dream Act. The federal bill, a version of which was introduced in Congress in 2001, would create a pathway to legal residency for immigrants who arrived in this country as children, have been in the United States for at least five years and have graduated from a U.S. high school or obtained a G.E.D. To gain status, they would have to finish two years of college or military service. Supporters argue that the legislation benefits ambitious, academically successful students who will go on to professional careers. Without the Dream Act, many of those same young people will be stuck, much like their parents, in the underground economy.

Some 825,000 immigrants are likely to become legal residents if the Dream Act passes, according to the Migration Policy Institute, a research group. But Steven A. Camarota, research director at the Center for Immigration Studies, which favors strict enforcement of immigration laws and opposes the Dream Act, argues that the legislation would create another avenue for immigration fraud and added incentive for immigrants to come to the United States. He noted that it rewards illegal behavior and takes college spots and financial aid from students who are legal residents.

Nonetheless, the Dream Act has some bipartisan support, and in this political climate, it’s one of the only immigration bills with any shot of passing. Last month, Senator Richard J. Durbin, the Illinois Democrat and chief sponsor of the bill, planned to attach the Dream Act as an amendment to the defense authorization bill, which included the controversial repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell.” The package stalled when supporters were unable to muster the 60 votes needed to overcome a Republican filibuster. Among Dream Act opponents is Senator John McCain, who co-sponsored a version of the Dream Act in 2007. This year, during which he faced a tough-on-immigration candidate in the primaries, he said he would not support the Dream Act without tighter border controls. Meanwhile, Durbin plans to push it as a stand-alone bill, either in the coming lame-duck session or next year.”

For the rest, click here.