Tennessee Federation of College Democrats

DREAM act

October 16th, 2007

In the US today, there are students who have lived practically their entire lives in this country, they’ve gone to high school here and they’ve worked hard to achieve, and yet they cannot go to college.

These are students who were brought to the US as children, and who, because of their lack of citizenship, are unable to realize their dreams of higher education. 65,000 of these students graduate from high school each year and are unable to work legally, or attend college.

This is wrong for America, and it’s wrong for our communities:

1. Education (at any level) is a universal right.
2. Not helping students’ attend college results in much greater costs to the state and contributes to an uneducated workforce

The “DREAM Act” and “American Dream Act” provide an opportunity for U.S.-raised students to earn U.S. citizenship. The “DREAM Act” would allow certain immigrant students to adjust their status to that of a legal permanent resident on a conditional basis for six years based on the following requirements:

• Age. Immigrant students must have entered the U.S. before age 16.

• Academic requirement. Students must have been accepted for admission into a two or four-year institution of higher education or have earned a high school diploma or a general educational development (GED) certificate at the time of application for relief. or served in the U.S. armed forces for at least 2 years.

• Long-term U.S. residence. Students must reside in the U.S. when the law is enacted. In addition, those eligible must have lived in the U.S. for at least five years preceding the date of enactment of the Act.

• Good moral character. Immigrant students must demonstrate good moral character, a defined term in immigration law. In general, students must have no criminal record.

The DREAM act isn’t just important to immigrant students, it is important for all of us.

Bush’s Healthcare Veto

October 7th, 2007

from Thursday, October 4th’s Washington Post:

President Bush yesterday vetoed a $35 billion expansion of a popular children’s health insurance program, a move that left him as politically isolated as he has ever been and had even Republican allies questioning his hard-line strategy.

Bush advisers said they remain hopeful that they can secure an extension of the 10-year-old program with a lower price tag, saying they want to open negotiations soon.