Ms. Daniela Pelaez...the Face of the DREAM Act?

Over the last few weeks, discussions concerning immigration reform, in general, and the DREAM Act, in particular, have largely fallen out of public attention. About the only recent news from political leaders has come from Mitt Romney's suggestion that the best way to address the immigration issue is to promote a policy of self-deportation. In other words, he suggests we should make life so unbearable for undocumented immigrants that they will eventually deport themselves. Evidently Romney believes half of the estimated 11 million undocumented will be gone by the end of his first term, if he is elected. I and others have suggested that such an approach will do wonders for our economy, and for Romney himself in the general election.

Then a little over a week ago comes North Miami Senior High's Valedictorian, Daniela Pelaez, 18. Ms. Pelaez came to this country from Columbia at the age of four, and shortly thereafter her parents overstayed their tourist visas. She grew up in Miami and evidently did well. Sadly, she recently received an order of deportation. The media received word of this interesting case, and local politicians soon followed. Republicans and Democrats alike took up her cause. Interestingly, one leading supporter of Ms. Peleaz includes U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, who also happens to oppose the DREAM Act.

As many of us already know, the DREAM Act is the proposed federal legislation that would allow undocumented minors a path to citizenship if these individuals graduate from college. This is what Rubio has said about the Act:

"But the DREAM Act, as I have read it, goes well beyond that. It's much broader and is not the right approach to that issue. In fact, it makes having a legal immigration system that works harder to accomplish. I have the same position I had during the campaign."

Yet, this is what Rubio said in support of Ms. Pelaez's case:

 "I have always said that our country needs to figure out a way to accommodate high academic achievers brought here at a very young age by their parents but who now find themselves undocumented through no fault of their own" 

How these two statements are consistent baffles me, and I suspect many others. Sadly, I have taken the good senator to task, to the extent any fairly unknown academic can, for his positions on these two related matters. Below is one such story:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ediberto-roman/politicians-acting-like-p_b_1323661.html

As Ms. Pelaez told reporters yesterday after she received a 2 year stay of her deportation, and was making arrangements to meet with Senator Rubio in Washington...there are thousands of other youngsters just like her that need assistance, but have not received hardly any media attention. After meeting today with Ms. Pelaez, Senator Rubio announced his continued opposition to the DREAM Act.

Hmmm??????

Comments

[Matt]

A sad but all too typical story. With the Dream act, it's also important to keep in mind that, though it's obviously the right thing to do, it (especially recent versions) are best seen as extremely stingy, literally the least that is morally defensible. The recent versions apply only to a fairly small portion of the decent, hard-working people brought to the US as children. We don't require many years of military service or graduating from college from citizens to grant them full membership in the society that they have grown up in, and it's unreasonable to expect it in the case of people brought to the US as children, at no fault of their own, too. Someone who is "merely" a high-school graduate surely is no morally less worthy of fair treatment than those with more opportunity. (High-school graduates would also be expected to be net social contributors,for those who favor such arguments.) Not only is there no plausible argument for opposing the dream act, there is no decent argument for not making it much more generous than any recently proposed version has been.
(In Rubio's case one wishes that a TV reporter could try to get him to explain in real time how his views are consistent or make any sense at all. In Romney's case we can only suspect that he's willing to say anything, no matter how stupid or vile, to get the Republican nomination. It's an extremely depressing situation.)

[Ediberto Roman]

Thanks Matt. I largely agree with your comments, and I wish I had a reporter's press pass! Best, Ediberto

[Cheap Air Max]

you said well right.
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