Source – The Japan Times

SANTA MARIA, Calif. – A student of mine was upset because children of illegal immigrants qualified for lower resident fees to attend college in California.

She, on the other hand, a foreign student from a Western European country, had to pay out-of-state fees that are considerably higher. In her mind, illegals in the United States are treated better than legal residents.

At first thought, she appeared to be right, but when you scratch beneath the surface, the truth is quite different.

The states of California, Texas, New York and Utah do allow children of undocumented residents – illegal immigrants – to attend public colleges and pay resident fees. Several other states are considering following suit. Moreover, even the federal government is now trying to help the children of undocumented workers by providing them with educational opportunities.

The “Dream Act,” which was introduced in Congress, would give temporary U.S. residency to students who had entered the country illegally at least five years before the enactment of the proposed law. Residency would become permanent if the immigrant graduates from a two-year college, studies for a bachelor’s degree, enters the U.S. armed forces or performs 910 hours of community service.

Before you jump to the conclusion that it’s another liberal giveaway, you should know that the legislation is sponsored by Sen. Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican. The bill was introduced in the U.S. Senate in July 2001 and has 45 cosponsors from both major parties. But the events of 9/11 slowed it down.

There are, of course, opponents, who express the usual concerns about rewarding illegal acts and encouraging others to come to the U.S. illegally. They would agree with my student that it pays to be illegal.

Actually, it’s the “illegals” who pay. The educational benefits the kids of undocumented workers receive are paid in full. Their parents work and pay taxes. The taxes mean that they are residents of a state and, as such, they qualify for the same benefits as other residents.

Undocumented workers don’t get all the benefits they are entitled to because of their illegal status. One big benefit they miss out on is Social Security. In the past 10 years, they have contributed more than Dollars 20 billion into the system, yet they don’t qualify for pensions.

Whatever you may think of undocumented workers, their kids committed no crime. Thus it makes sense that they should not be punished for their parents’ actions. Some of these kids were born in the U.S. and are, by law, American citizens. Others were brought in by their parents at a very young age and know little about their parents’ home country. In practical terms, they’re also Americans.

Some of these “illegal” young men and women serve in the U.S. military and die for “their” country. The Pentagon claims that no undocumented or “illegal aliens” have enlisted, and that anyone joining with fake papers will be discharged. Yet, the first U.S. casualty in Iraq was Jose Gutierrez, a Guatemalan orphan raised in Los Angeles. He had entered the U.S. illegally and joined the Marines with fake papers. It was a little tough to discharge him after he died.

The Dream Act would affect 65,000 students annually, according to estimates by the Urban Institute, a nonprofit economic and social policy organization.

Approval of the Dream Act will not come easily. Too many people are stuck on the simple yet very powerful notion of legal vs. illegal and cannot see beyond the very complex issue that affects human beings.

Now that the presidential election is over, the country can address immigration issues realistically because the atmosphere is not charged with achieving political results.

President George W. Bush has indicated that he intends to spend his “political capital.” Will some of that capital include his support of the Dream Act?

Domenico Maceri teaches foreign languages at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria, Calif. His articles have won awards from the National Association of Hispanic Publications.