During the hearing, one of the act’s harshest critics was panelist and University of Missouri law professor Kris Kobach, who called it “perverse” and “ridiculous.”
“The DREAM Act makes it absurdly easy for just about any illegal … to evade the law,” he told the committee.
Several prospective college students, all children of illegal immigrants, gathered outside the hearing to show their support for the bill.
Alex Chavira, an 18-year-old high school graduate from neighboring Longmont, Colo., was born in Mexico but attended elementary, middle and high school in Colorado. He now wants to attend college, but says that without some financial help, “it’s like running into a brick wall.” Despite a solid academic background, he said his application to a local community college was denied because of his illegal status.
Chavira said the bill would help illegal immigrants obtain degrees and become productive citizens, adding that current immigration laws are unfair and need to be changed.
“[The DREAM Act] benefits a lot of student who are here illegally,”
Chavira said.
Alfonso Mejia, an 18-year-old student born in El Salvador, said the children of illegal immigrants are being discriminated against because of no fault of their own.
“It wasn’t our choice to come here,” he said.
Kobach has argued that the children of illegal immigrants should return to their native countries and apply for visas like other prospective immigrants. Mejia, however, said such a return is impossible for him, because he came to the United States as a small child with his aunt after his village was destroyed by an earthquake.
Chavira said that he has never returned to Mexico and that because he was raised and educated in the United States, he considers himself an American, not a Mexican.
“I know nothing about Mexico,” he said. “I’m an American, but not legal.”
© Copyright 2005 by DiverseEducation.com
