Why Reid’s DREAM Act is More Like a Nightmare

Sen. Reid is pushing for a vote on the DREAM Act, which would provide amnesty for illegal aliens. The bill though will only lead to more illegal immigration.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is pushing for a vote on the DREAM Act, which would provide amnesty for illegal aliens.  However, as my latest column for The Week argues, the bill would only open the door to even more illegal immigration.

What should the Democrats do with their final weeks of majority status in the House of Representatives?

Should they work to renew middle-income tax cuts, as promised? Should they begin to act on the recommendations of the president's deficit reduction commission? Or should they ignite a massive unwinnable fight over amnesty for illegal aliens?

If you guessed the third option, congratulations: You qualify for a job on the staff of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Reid survived the 2010 election in great part due to the votes of Nevada Latinos. As a thank you, he announced last week that he would reintroduce the so-called DREAM Act in the lame-duck session of Congress.

The DREAM Act cannot pass. It's not meant to pass. It's not meant even to come to a vote. It's meant to mobilize and excite Latino voters in advance of 2012. It's a ruse and a sham. But it's also an appalling, deceptive piece of legislation with very sinister consequences. So let's take it seriously for a minute and consider what it would do.

DREAM purports to be a humanitarian measure on behalf of young Latinos who were brought to this country as children. Here for example is what The Economist’s blogger Will Wilkinson has to say about DREAM:

"Suppose your parents moved to America from Mexico without legal permission when you were five years old. You grow up in America. You graduate from high school in America. You're an American in every sense except the legal one. You want to go to college, but because your parents came into the country illicitly, you don't qualify for government financial aid, and you can't get legal work. If caught by immigration authorities, you face the possibility of detention or deportation, even though this is, in every sense, your home. That doesn't seem fair. Every year, over 60,000 kids like you graduate high school in the United States. And unless something like the DREAM Act becomes law, you and they will become part of a growing class of marginalized and unprotected Americans without papers. Even then, the papers are no sure thing. You've got to serve in the military or get a couple years of college under your belt, and stay out of trouble. But at least you'll someday have the chance to enjoy the same rights and opportunities as your date to the prom."

Well that seems compassionate! And it's only a small group of people we're talking about, right? Just 60,000 a year.

Wrong. Hugely wrong.

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