Reid To Attach Partial Illegal Immigrant Amnesty to Defense Bill

Its called the DREAM Act, but should be called the partial amnesty bill. The DREAM Act has two major components, it grants amnesty to illegal aliens who entered the country as children and have met minimal educational requirements; and serves in the armed forces, it also reverses current law to allow states to provide taxpayer subsidized in-state tuition to illegal aliens. In other words, it grants younger illegal aliens (they had to come into the country before 16 and have to be younger than 35) to stay in the country and we get to pay for their education.

In a move being made to bolster Latin-American support in the upcoming mid-term election, Senate Majority Leader Reid announced today that he will be attaching the Dream act as an amendment to the Defense bill coming up for a vote. Even if the DREAM act fails (it has failed before) Democrats will get credit for trying. Certainly Reid needs the help. He is facing a tough re-election challenge from Sharron Angle, who supports tougher immigration laws. Hispanics make up a quarter of Nevada's population.

The act may be good for the Democrats but it is not good for America. Among the issues with the bill is that:

• Rewards parents who violated immigration laws through their children, and provide a powerful incentive for more illegal immigration.
• Transfers seats and tuition subsidies to illegal aliens at a time when state higher education budgets are being slashed, admissions curtailed, and tuitions increased.
• By broadly defining “student” it gives amnesty to large numbers of illegal aliens who may be pursing any sort of education.
• Accelerate chain migration and exponential population growth because illegal aliens who are granted green cards will be able to petition the Department of Homeland Security in the future to grant their parents and relatives legal status too. 

Additionally as our brave heroes are at a critical point in War in Afghanistan, politicizing a defense spending bill by slipping in an amendment granting amnesty for people who broke the law by coming into the country is the ultimate in political cynicism.


Also featured in the bill is a repeal of "Don't Ask Don't Tell."  It very interesting that when Republicans object to extending the Bush tax cuts for only part of the population Harry Reid calls it holding the middle class hostage. But when Harry Reid put two controversial provisions in a defense spending bill, shouldn't it be called holding our heroes in the military hostage, while they are under fire from the enemy?  Because that is exactly what it is.