Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Guest Voz - Sen. Michael Bennet: Keeping the DREAM Alive

Guest Voz - Sen. Michael Bennet: Keeping the DREAM Alive
Late last year, the U.S. Senate tried but failed to muster the courage or the votes necessary to pass the DREAM Act -- a narrowly missed opportunity for lawmakers to put politics aside and do the right thing for our country and our economy. But despite the failure of the past year, there's still reason to hope. Today, I joined Sen. Dick Durbin in re-introducing the DREAM Act in the Senate, reviving the effort to allow some of the best and brightest young students to give back to the country they call home through military service or by getting a college degree.

The DREAM Act is by no means a silver bullet. Washington must take action to provide a common-sense fix to our broken immigration system that secures the border, cracks down on employers who willfully break the law and requires the undocumented to pay a fine, pay their taxes, learn English and pass criminal background checks. We have waited far too long to reform our immigration laws. Washington inaction has come at the expense of our families, small business owners, farmers and students.

But in the absence of comprehensive reform, we should work to boost our economy, strengthen our Armed Forces and help hard-working kids fulfill their full potential by passing the DREAM Act. The American people support the bill, and so does a majority of the U.S. Senate. But for many kids, the clock is ticking. The Administration can and should act now to grant deferred action to exemplary students who meet the rigorous requirements for eligibility under the DREAM Act. Not only will these children be better off for it -- our country will be better off as well.

When I was superintendent of Denver Public Schools, I saw the potential of some of our best and brightest students cut short, punished for the actions of others -- kids who had grown up and done well in our school system, and kids who know no other home but America. This is unacceptable.

A student who has excelled in the classroom should have the opportunity to attend college and become a productive, taxpaying member of society. Upon receiving a college education, these youth will be able to transition into higher paying jobs and will be paying their fair share in taxes. In fact, a recent UCLA study concluded that DREAM Act participants could contribute as much as $3.6 trillion to the U.S. economy during their working lives.

If we are going to get our fiscal house in order, we need to make sure we are getting the full return on our investment and not closing the door on new tax revenues as these young people become contributors to our economy. The DREAM Act will require these young people to pay their fair share of taxes. We are acting against our own financial interests by keeping these youth in uncertain legal status.

And if we fail to pass the DREAM Act, we are also acting against our own national security interests by denying patriotic youth the ability to serve in our military. According to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, about 35,000 non-citizens serve and 8,000 permanent resident aliens enlist in our Armed Forces every year. The DREAM Act represents an opportunity to assist with military recruiting and readiness.

With the reintroduction of the DREAM Act, Congress once again has the chance to do the right thing... but it needs some nudging. That's where you come in. I need your help. Will you take a moment to submit an online video telling Congress why you support the DREAM Act? Will you share your story? And just as important, will you encourage your friends and family to do the same?

Supporting the DREAM Act is not only the right thing to do; it is also a practical solution. We owe it to the taxpayers who have invested in the education of these youth, the teachers who have fostered their development, and military leaders who can benefit from these new recruits to move forward on the DREAM Act without delay.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

The Dream Act travesty fools no one. The jobs and positions in our military would be filled by Americans in their place. So essentially it would be Americans putting money into our economy and serving our country. So it is a wash.

After their legalization the bleeding hearts and ethnocentrics like yourself would be vying for their parents to be made legal using the separation of families sob story. You know it, I know it so cut the BS. This is just a back door amnesty for their parents also.

We don't have a shortage of the best and the brightest among our own citizenry and these Dreamies would just be competing for Americans jobs and places in the military. These Dreamies should go back to their homelands and with the education they have received on our tax dollars could continue their higher education in their homelands and be an asset for them as Mexico in particular seems to need educated people to fix its economy.

Defensores de Democracia said...

In a Legislative breakfast given by the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce Russell Pearce threatens to lock 'em up, should public sector employees and unions representing them ever follow the lead of their brothers and sisters in Wisconsin


Phoenix New Times -
Feathered Bastard -
Russell Pearce Threatens To Lock Up Union Members, Public Employees -
By Stephen Lemons
Wednesday, May 11, 2011


http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/bastard/2011/05/russell_pearce_threatens_to_lo.php#more


Some excerpts :

Will I miss having state Senate President Russell Pearce to kick around once he's been recalled, his career ended in disgrace?

Yes and no. Of course, I want to see this menace to humanity flattened (metaphorically) like a Looney Toons character crushed by a cartoon anvil. But, I must admit that his persistent, knuckledragging stupidity does give me plenty to blog about.

The latest addition to the Pearce foot-in-mouth disease compendium is a remark he made at a recent Legislative breakfast given by the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce, where Pearce threatens to lock 'em up, should public sector employees and unions representing them ever follow the lead of their brothers and sisters in Wisconsin.

According to the Yellow Sheet, Pearce made this crack about what he and his buddy Sheriff Joe Arpaio would do if workers stood up for their rights and demonstrated:

"I've spoken with the sheriff, and he has some nice buses that hold a lot of people. We've also got some tents with a view."

Pearce should know. Not only because he used to work for Arpaio, and claims credit for the Tent City idea, but because his 30 year-old son Joshua Pearce has been in and out of stir on probation violations. This, regarding Josh's 2007 conviction for extreme DUI.

Joshua turned himself in to the Mesa Police recently, after spending a couple of months in Joe's gray bar hotel on a different probation violation. Obviously, Josh, who was under investigation for child abuse earlier this year (but never charged), is the product of exemplary parenting.
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