Dream Act: Shortcomings, Limitations and Arguments Against Legalization - Essay Example

Dream Act: Shortcomings, Limitations and Arguments Against Legalization America is known to the world as a country of brewing dreams. Novels, poems,plays and cinemas have been made countless in number envisaging the spirit of America and American Dream. Over the years and decades, America has housed many immigrants from across the globe that has migrated to the United States of America in pursuit of a better life. No one can also undermine the fact that these immigrants who have come to America to seek a better fortune have considerably contributed to the development of America with their hardship.

America in recent decades has also faced a lot of trouble with immigrants and immigration policy. On the other hand, the government of America has also taken due care for the immigrants who have flown to the nation uprooting themselves from their land in search of a life worth living. In the year 2001, American legislative proposed and introduced in their Senate a bill, unique of its kind and was a kind of regulation that was being introduced in the history of America for the first time. DREAM Act which is the acronym for the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors shall seek to provide the immigrant minors who possess a good character morally and have graduated from the U.S. High Schools and have arrived at the land of the United States as minors with the facility of permanent residency under certain conditions applied upon them.

The bill has been proposed by Dick Durbin and Orrin Hatch (American Immigration Council, “The DREAM Act”). The DREAM Act has many positive sides. However, it encompassed within its premises many negative aspects as well. The essay shall discuss the shortcomings and limitations of the DREAM Act and shall frame the argument against the legalization of the proposed bill (FindLaw, “CHECKLIST: What Is "Good Moral Character?"”). Firstly, DREAM Act is applicable to the immigrants who shall possess a good moral character, the student will have to enroll himself or herself at the secondary, post-secondary, junior college or have applied to any college, the student will have to be present within the United States as a minor which means the student will not be less than sixteen years and not older than twenty five and the student shall have to stay in the United States for more than five years or minimum five years.

Under these conditions, it is very complex to quote or set a parameter for a ‘good moral character’ (FindLaw, “CHECKLIST: What Is "Good Moral Character?"”). Secondly, the DREAM Act according to the critics of the act encourages immigration which is going to be illegal and the Act shall attract immigration and a chain of immigration following in pursuit of a better life which they are likely to achieve without any productive contribution to the economy of the nation. The Act like Dream Act shall also place the economic burden upon the government and shall definitely import poverty and cheap labor to the country.

As a medium of recruiting military tools as well, the Act is not much beneficial as it will not evoke any good spirit of nationalism, contrarily it can envisage much anti-national sentiments within the army being something forced upon the immigrants. Degradation of the quality of education and professionalism would be also at high risk. The Act also encourages disparity with the legal born children from American immigrants who are likely to pay the full tuition fees for their kids at different colleges and universities.

Dream Act encourages immigration of individual but then it should have proper base and should only allow individuals who have made them established already. Students, who have not already established themselves as prominent entity should have a controlled influx into the land of the United States. This might encourage the action of fraud at a massive scale as happened during 1986 amnesty. The Act like DREAM Act has enough spaces within its compass to provide shield to the members of any gang to deport to the country.

The chances of public health getting degraded and influx of myriad tropical diseases shall also accelerate if such bill which shall act like magnet to the immigration policy is enforced (The Library of Congress, “Bill Summary & Status”). DREAM Act is just another Act that shall pave the way for controversies and contradictions American government is delineating presently with regards to the American immigration policies. Nevertheless, there are lop sided view associated with the DREAM Act as well, as it shall attract highly skilled professionals and rich intellect from across the globe which will in turn benefit America and its economy in the long run.

Therefore, for the benefit of American society, rules or eligibility criteria for students who wish to migrate to America for their graduation itself should be more rigid and specific. In this age of globalization, it is not possible for any country to cease the immigration or stop cross-border relations or economic activities. There should be certain tight lipped policies that can check and control illegal immigration and its vices following the illegal influx into the land. Works Cited “The DREAM Act.

” American Immigration Council. 2011. Web. 06 Nov. 2013. “CHECKLIST: What Is "Good Moral Character?".” FindLaw. n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2013. “Bill Summary & Status.” The Library of Congress. 2010. Web. 06 Nov. 2013.