DREAM Act, Other Immigrant Entitlements Officially Dead

By Joe Guzzardi
June 8, 2012

Congress’ job performance rating is 10 percent. Lawyers’ popularity stands about the same. And although there’s no official ranking for whining, entitlement-seeking aliens, I can’t image that they do better than Congress or attorneys.

So it’s no surprise that when Daniela Peleaz, a Florida high school alien student, her lawyer Nera Shefer and U.S. Representative David Rivera (D-FL.) held a Capitol Hill press conference last week, everyone ignored them.

Rivera used the occasion to introduce his tedious Studying toward Adjusted Residency Status (STARS) legislation. I say “tedious” because Rivera’s is another in a long list of DREAM Act-type bills than Democrats and Republicans have soundly defeated for more than a decade. In these turbulent months leading up to the November election, STARS has no chance—none!—of even getting to the House floor for a vote.

Peleaz, although introduced as a DREAM Act poster girl because of her good grades and valedictorian status, is instead representative of aliens for whom nothing is ever enough. To date, Peleaz has already benefited from taxpayer fully subsidized K-12 education and recently had a deportation order stayed, largely because of the Obama administration’s prosecutorial discretion policy. Peleaz still yearns for more. She wants you to underwrite millions of aliens’ university tuition fees.

I have extremely bad news for Peleaz, as well as for the others who advocate for illegal immigrants selfish causes. According to well placed Capitol Hill insiders, namely Congressional legislative aides who know what’s going on behind the scenes, the agenda to promote more immigration and alien benefits is deader than a doornail.

Democratic leaders have effectively nixed a DREAM Act vote or anything remotely resembling legislation that would give citizenship to illegal alien teens that go to college or join the military. The same terminal fate awaits dozens of pending bills promoting more visas for foreign-born workers.

I’d like to report that Congress finally came to its senses to realize that rewarding illegal immigration and promoting more of if it is unfair to American citizens. And I wish I could say that Congress did that math and discovered that with only 69,000 jobs created in May, adding more overseas workers to the population hurts unemployed Americans’ job chances. Sadly, however, I must tell you what you have already probably figured out. The decision to end discussions on the DREAM Act and to authorize additional visas is—surprise, surprise—politically motivated.

The Democrats don’t have the votes. And going into November when all but the most secure congressional incumbent seats will be at risk why, the thinking goes, swim against the tide? Ethnic identity lobbyists such as La Raza that demand liberalized immigration legislation aren’t satisfied with partial bills like the DREAM Act. Broader legislation, however, like comprehensive immigration reform means certain death for office seekers.

As for Pelaez, she’s off to Dartmouth College, a private Ivy League institution. Because of its lofty standing among elitists, I’ll wager that Dartmouth was misguidedly impressed with Pelaez’s alien status and all the hoopla surrounding her.

In case Pelaez has you buffaloed too, here’s something to consider. Every year, Dartmouth receives about 20,000 applications and rejects more than 90 percent. Since it’s expensive and time consuming, few apply to Dartmouth frivolously. Among the 19,000 rejections are thousands of qualified Americans. But in this fall’s freshman class Pelaez, an alien, will take one of their places.

Joe Guzzardi is a Californians for Population Stabilization Senior Writing Fellow. His columns have been syndicated since 1986. Contact him at [email protected].