Almazan 1

Tomas Almazan

Walker

American Lit.

8/23/18

The “DREAM” ACT

Do you ever remember not being a citizen of the United States? Most people cannot

because the majority of everyone born in the United States is given citizenship. Imagine being a

child and being brought to another country without even knowing you were leaving your own

country. The Dream Act is basically working on how to grant citizenship to those who ended up

coming here through this way. Now should these people receive citizenship or not is very difficult

because it is a very controversial topic but I believe they should receive citizenship.

The reason why these people should be granted citizenship are because it wasn’t there

fault. Some of these immigrants were brought when they were children and didn’t know what was

happening. “ Because those most likely to be affected by the law have usually come to the United

States with their parents, proponents argue they are not guilty of breaking any immigration laws of

their own volition” (Flair “Dream Act”) . If anything it should be the fault of the parent because

they were the ones who brought the kid with them. Of course it should be that they shouldn’t

deport anyone unless they have done something wrong that could provoke the government to do

so.

These people that the dream act is affecting are practically students or people that want to

go to college. So if the dream act were to be passed they would be accomplishing their dreams and

it could mean something good for the economy. “Study argues that over time and with a path to

citizenship that education levels, employment rates, self-employment rates, United States family

members, and English Language proficiency will increase” (Kerwin “DREAM Act - eligible
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poised”) . They would be an everyday citizen of the United States. If the United States truly cared

about their economy they should pass the act.

Some may say that if you grant some of these immigrants residency then everyone else will

want permanent residency and it will promote immigration since we are giving the people a way to

gain citizenship as long as they came when they were young.(Flair “Dream Act”). The obvious to

solution is to only grant it to the people that apply to the rule right now and they can help grant

residency to the rest of those who were left out. Another counterclaim some may say is that there is

too many immigrants and there is no guarantee that they will actually work or pursue a career. Yet

again there is an easy solution which is to give a limited time for them to figure out what they want

to do and if they don’t figure out or don’t work then just maybe warn them or no chance at

permanent residency.

Who are we to keep these people from their residency? It is just not not right or not morally

right. Illegal immigrants make up three percent of the population in the United States of America.

There are approximately more than 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States. Are we to

just deny all these people citizenship. Statistics have shown that immigrants pay up an estimated

$11.64 billion in state and local taxes (McCarthy “How Much Tax Do America’s Undocumented

Immigrants Actually Pay”). Fifty percent of the immigrants that have chosen the United States as

their home pay their taxes. It is just not right to keep these taxpayers from gaining residency.

In conclusion, immigrants should be granted residency but there should be some

requirements and a limit to who should be able to qualify for the dream act. If the dream act passed
it would have some benefits for the overall economy of the United States. It could possibly make it

easier for people from other countries come here legally as long as you have one family member in

the United States they could help you get permanent residency.
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Works Cited

Flair, Isaiah. “DREAM Act.” Salem Press Encyclopedia, 2013.

Donald, Kerwin and Warren Robert. “DREAM Act-Eligible Poised to Build on the

Investments Made in Them. “ Journal on Migration and Human Security, Vol 6, Iss 1

(2018), no. 1, 2018.

McCarthy Niall. “How Much Tax Do America’s Undocumented Immigrants Actually Pay

[Infographic]”. Forbes 2016.