Running head: THE (NO LONGER A) DREAM ACT

The (No Longer A) DREAM Act

Vanessa De La Torre

Arizona State University

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Abstract

This paper is talking about the impact the DREAM Act would have on the community on

personal and national levels if the bill passes. This research dives into the bigger picture while

going in depth to situations about how the legislative would impact individuals lives from day to

day. The information is coming from four different types of sources, including but not limited to,

academic journals and quantitatively based surveys. Academic and popular sources were both

utilized in this paper.

Keywords​: DREAM Act, immigration, citizens, deportation, Democrats

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The (No Longer A) Dream Act

I believe that the pursuit of happiness is a God given right and not an American one. With

that being said, the passionate young adults who came to this country as children and grew up in

our educational system with our societal expectations have made a home of our land. They have

given love to the United States and I believe it is time to give love back. The DREAM Act is a

legislation that has consistently failed to pass and would give those immigrants who came to the

United States at a young age the path to citizenship for better opportunities than they are given at

the moment. It is our job to ensure that we get that law passed or else our community will be

under attack with the future loss of our loved ones.

As we live in an integrated country full of diversity in our classrooms, offices, apartment

complexes and more, one of the biggest injustices is the discrimination of our fellow immigrant

brother and sisters. Brad Forenza (2017) discusses the injustices that undocumented children face

growing up in areas of empowerment such as shared beliefs, opportunity role structure, social

support, and leadership. With Forenza’s background in social work and child advocacy, his past

experience in examining youth development and civic engagement is crucial when trying to fix

the problem. He says, “We have seen politicians try to divide the people with the narrative of bad

versus good immigrant. If you have a D-U-I, you are bad and need to be deported. If you have

been here for 10 years with no record, than you're a good immigrant. You are pitting the

community against each other.” (para. 20) As politicians have the power to make or break the

community, our biggest challenge to address first is to stop buying into what they say about

immigrants.
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If the DREAM Act continuously fails to pass, families are going to be separated and

that’s a reality. Duhita Mahatmya (2014) explores impacts on different platforms through family

dynamics, with focuses in responsibility, stability, relationships, diversity, and engagement.

Without the roots and identity structure that family brings, young adults begin to feel lost without

a cultural influence from their loved ones. This begins to deteriorate their sense of their own

character, creating problems in self-esteem, -confidence and -respect. “In this way, the DREAM

Act discourse makes assumptions about which family members are good and bad (Solórzano &

Yosso, 2002); thereby creating and sustaining social practices and power relationships that may

ultimately reinforce dominant ideologies, perpetuate inequality in, and be detrimental to positive

family relationships” (pg. 83) Children need a foundation to build from and the lack of a

legitimate DREAM Act is stripping them from that opportunity.

The legislation itself is simply a helping hand for those who came to America at a young

age, as most in this situation cannot gain support from other support systems only because of

their citizenship status. Gladly, there are still some resources out there looking for hope in our

society’s political conversation. As an example, Jacob Sapochnick (2019) discusses the Terms of

Permanent Resident Status on a Conditional Basis as well as the Removal of Conditional Basis

of Permanent Resident Status in an efficient, easy to understand manner for everyone to be up to

date to accompany their needs. “Although this legislation is expected to go through various

amendments and challenges, it is the first step in a long battle to provide Dreamers a path to

citizenship.” (para. 7) DREAMers are still working for the citizenship, the only difference is this

bridge won’t take them decades to cross.

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In order to get a job in the United States, you need to be a citizen unless you have

sponsorships for specific reasons like a public university as an example. Not everyone living in

this age and stage can check that “Are you currently eligible to work in the United States without

sponsorship?” box, only because of the place they were born. Regardless of if a college student

were born here or on the other side of the border, they are most certainly capable to work the

same position as a library front desk assistant but one student is at more of a disadvantage than

the other. With Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals working alongside the DREAM Act,

Tom Wong (2018) created a survey to highlight the domino effect of positive contributions in

today’s society that certain approvals of DACA applications have brought forth. 53% of the

college-aged participants have stated that their DACA application approval has given them better

work opportunities, helping them earn more money to help pay for their tuition. (pg. 3) Another

43% of the sample said the approval lead to high quality careers, helping them pay for medical

expenses. (pg. 3) It’s time that we start giving jobs to those who have the skills for the job and

are worthy of the compensation, not the ones with the “right” passports.

I think it’s time to take action, as this has an impact on the community on personal and

national levels if the bill passes (or fails to). The legislation would impact individuals lives from

day to day, while it would boost a sense of equality for the rest of the nation to catch the wave of.

Look around, these people I’m talking about are in your family and in your neighborhoods. Do

something about it. Take advantage of the first amendment. You have the freedom of speech,

you have the freedom to peacefully assemble, you have the freedom to petition the government.

When was the last time that someone who didn’t have their “green card” did something for you?
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Return the favor and get the government’ attention because this affects people’s individual

rights.

References

1. Forenza, B., & Mendonca, C. (2017). Dream Big: Exploring Empowering Processes of

DREAM Act Advocacy in a Focal State. Journal of Latinos & Education, 16(4), 290–300.

https://doi-org.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/10.1080/15348431.2016.1240077

2. Mahatmya, D., & Gring-Pemble, L. M. (2014). DREAMers and their families: A family

impact analysis of the DREAM Act and implications for family well-being. Journal of Family

Studies, 20(1), 79–87. ​https://doi-org.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/10.5172/jfs.2014.20.1.79

3. Sapochnick, J. (2019, March 16). House Democrats Introduce Dream and Promise Act 2019.

Retrieved from

https://www.visalawyerblog.com/house-democrats-introduce-dream-and-promise-act-2019/

4. Wong, T. K. (2018, August 7). New DACA Survey 2017 (Rep.). Retrieved March 19, 2019,

from University of California, San Diego website:

https://cdn.americanprogress.org/content/uploads/2018/08/13121550/2018_DACA_Survey.pdf