Comment & Debate
Steve King. “Op-Ed: The DREAM Act Is An Amnesty Bill That America Cannot Afford.” Free Republic. December 6th, 2010: “There is also an additional cost for passing amnesty. It is the cost incurred when respect for the Rule of Law is undermined. It has been 24 years since a ‘one time only’ amnesty bill was signed into law and, millions upon millions of illegal border crossings later, it is clear that the 1986 legislation only served as an incentive for further lawbreaking.”
Mark Krikorian. “DREAM On” National Review. December 1, 2010: “3. Another problem with DREAM, which all amnesties share, is that it will attract new illegal immigration. Prospective illegal immigrants, considering their options, are more likely to opt to come if they see that their predecessors eventually hit the jackpot. In 1986, we had an estimated 5 million illegals, 3 million of whom were legalized. We now have more than twice as many as before the last amnesty, and they’ve been promised repeatedly that if they hold out a little longer they’ll be able to stay legally. Any new amnesty, even if only for those brought here as children, will attract further illegal immigration.”
David Frum. “A DREAM bill that’s more like a nightmare.” The Week. November 25th, 2010: “Possibility No. 3. I’m still living in Guatemala, but I’d dearly like to come to the United States. Can DREAM help me? Si se puede. DREAM sends a message to every teenager on planet Earth: Come to America. If you enter the United States before age 16, and if you can remain here for five years (or can buy papers that purport to show you have lived here for five years), you’re as good as a citizen already. No deportation proceedings. No risk that your application will be used against you. Lenient and subsidized requirements for permanent residency. What’s not to love?”