The DREAM Act is amnesty. You can explain the requirements or discount the culpability of the recipients, but this legislation ensures that law-breakers are not punished. The crime is entering the United States illegally, and the punishment for that crime is deportation. Anything less than that is amnesty.
The DREAM Act could encourage more illegal immigration. Even without this legislation, immigrants are compelled to enter the U.S. illegally to provide for a better life for their children. Codifying and rewarding this narrative will entrench the incentives that exist for undocumented parents. Of all types of illegal crossings, we should do everything possible to discourage families from attempting to enter our country illegally. Whether it is the desert terrain of the southern border or an apartment in New York City, the children of these parents can be put in extreme danger, subjected to starvation, abandonment and even death.
The reason that America is able to provide so many opportunities to some many people for such a long time is its steadfast adherence to the rule of law. Our laws create a marketplace for business, safe environments for education and entertainment and a quality of life superior to all other nations.
Although it is disheartening to hear the stories of undocumented immigrants struggling to survive in the United States, they should not be the face of this issue. The true victims of illegal immigration are the impoverished and persecuted citizens of corrupt nations that continue to subject themselves to a poor quality of life, waiting in line for the chance to legally immigrate to the U.S. The faces of these law-abiding and beleaguered persons are never seen, and their stories are never told. If we are to reward anyone for their struggles, it should be them.
Jake Bullock
Co-president, Duke Conservative Union
Trinity '11
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