DREAM Act Affronts Every Unemployed American

Last week, I wrote a Cagle nationally syndicated column titled “The DREAM Act: A cynical tool to recruit vulnerable illegal immigrants into the military.” In it, I made several observations including the important point that any scheme like the DREAM Act that eventually puts illegal aliens on track to become citizens also means that ultimately they will compete with Americans in an already tight job market. Responding to my column in an email message Richard Tax, the president of the American Engineering Association wrote that he spent his twenty-first birthday on a troop ship returning from Korea where he served four years. Then, Tax continued, he fulfilled his lifelong ambition of getting an engineering degree. To Tax’s dismay, he found what he describes as “a corrupted system with preferential treatment for foreign workers and discrimination against American workers.” Tax and his organization are dedicated to the enhancement of the American engineering profession by employing American workers. Part of AEA’s position is as follows: “We believe the public policy of the United States should be to rely primarily upon U.S. workers for our supply of engineers and scientists. This position is in response to false claims that America faces shortages of Engineers, Programmers and high tech professionals and companies must resort to importing foreign workers to meet demands. “In order to improve the utilization of American Engineers, Scientists, Programmers, Mathematicians and high tech (STEM) professionals we must first provide them with jobs and the opportunity to enhance their skills.” The AEA’s complete position statement is here. In all the millions of words that DREAM Act advocates have spoken on the Congressional floor and to their constituents about why for what they refer to as humanitarian reasons the legislation should pass, not a word is ever said about its impact on jobs. Once illegal aliens allege that they meet the basic minimal criteria of having been brought to the U.S. before age 16, being under the age of 30 at time of legislation’s enactment and being present in the U.S. at least 5 years before the amnesty takes effect, they are given “conditional lawful permanent resident status” and receive a 10-year work permit to compete directly with the 22 million Americans who want a full-time job but can’t find one. If the DREAM Act passes, it will be an outrageous affront to unemployed, struggling Americans and their families.