Thursday, September 23, 2010

David Vitter Demagogues the DREAM Act

For the life of me, I can't understand what could motivate David Vitter to be so viciously and aggressively opposed to the DREAM Act. All this Act seeks to do is to provide a path to regularized immigration status and an opportunity for legal permanent residency for undocumented migrant youth who were brought to the US before turning 16 years old and who have met a slew of other conditions. Many of these youth came to the U.S. at such an early age that the only country they know is the United States. These youth are fully assimilated, speak English fluently, have been educated in U.S. Schools, and have been models of civic responsibility. Some have even put their lives on the line in defense of the United States by serving legally in the US armed forces. For nearly all of them, the choice to come the United States was not made by them, but rather by their parents. Essentially, they are about as innocent of any intentional wrong-doing that can be imagined, are being punished for the "sins" of their parents, and are still forced to live in the shadows of an illegal immigration status. These young people are here and they are for all intents and purposes essentially U.S. citizens in every way that truly matters. How anyone can equate the DREAM Act as an insidious back door amnesty deal for sneaky border-crossing criminals is beyond comprehension; and such opposition has got to be motivated by nothing short of intentional malice. It's disappointing that it would have to be one of my State's Senators who is falling all over himself to be the lead voice in oppositional demagoguery on this issue. And it's reprehensible and shameful behavior on his part.

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