Senators introduce GOP alternative to Dream Act
In light of the GOP's loss in the recent presidential election in large part due to strong Democratic support among Latino voters (despite what Republican senators say otherwise), three prominent southwest, Republican, senators have introduced an alternative to the Dream Act (called the Achieve Act) that would grant legal residency status instead of full citizenship to undocumented immigrants that complete military service or higher education, and have worked in the country for at least four years. A popular GOP senator among Latinos, Marco Rubio, is working on his own alternative to the Dream Act separate from the Achieve Act. One of the senators that introduced the bill, Jon Kyl, remarked that the bill, criticized as a half-measure, is intended to "get the ball rolling" on the immigration conversation. However, the timing of the bill's introduction does not seem very courageous; 2 of the 3 senators introducing the bill are in the lame duck sessions of their final terms in the Senate.
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I hate to bring it up, but this probably offended many Latino people, and that would be the video of what Romney said during the Republican conference. The Republicans should realize that they probably were not going to get Latinos on their side due to that slip up, but I feel like this act would do well for the already immigrated and undocumented Latinos. This would help them stay in the United States and then they wouldn't have to get kicked out of the US.
ReplyDeleteThe Achieve Act seems like a good start to some sort of compromise given the current immigration situation. I'm a bigger proponent for granting immigration status to illegals who have served our country or have attended college, as opposed to those who have just come over looking for work. Many of them do work extremely hard once they're here, but at the end of the day they are still just taking Americans jobs. Maybe this more lenient proposition will help the republicans gain some support with the Latino vote. God knows they need it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with John that the timing is quite interesting. Supporting a piece of legislation after your party has lost an election and towards the end of your term doesn't say much. It is no secret that the Republicans are trying to gain Latino support. However, if this search for votes somehow causes the Republican party to consider immigration reform, perhaps we will see more support for a bipartisan idea in the future.
ReplyDeleteI think that the Achieve Act is almost as bad of an idea as the Dream Act is. How is it fair to immigrants who come here and do everything legally if some people can get around it. I know that they come here for a better life and work hard for the American dream but that doesn't mean that they don't have to follow the rules. I would never expect this sort of treatment if I were to illegally move to another country. It's wrong to expect special treatment like theat. If you want to live here, do the work and do it legally.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Nicolette. I feel both propositions (the Achieve Act and Dream Act) are supporting and in a way promoting an illegal act. I recognize that there is probably a great deal of undocumented immigrants (many Latino) that work hard and contribute positively to America, but in the end they did not follow the rules. They are stepping in front of those spending a great deal of time going through a long process to enter the country legally. There should be no exceptions made to the law. Both acts would be rewarding illegal immigration and would be a great promotion and hope for others to do so as well.
DeleteThe Achieve Act seems very reasonable to me and if people aren't too stubborn, it may be passed. The criteria for the Achieve Act are not too different from the Dream Act in my opinion. A compromise on both sides of Congress for this Act could possibly start a trend of proper negotiations in our government. Also, this is a good attempt by the GOP to gain Latino votes since they did so badly in the election. This is the beginning of a new type of GOP that has to start changing to gain the votes of new voting classes.
ReplyDeleteI do not know the process of becoming an American citizen but with the Achieve Act it seems that there are just as many obstacles to overcome to get to stay in the country, but still not even as a citizen. I do not see what the appeal would be to persuade more immigrants to come to the country legally just because there still are so many obstacles. I'm sure that the process of becoming a legal citizen is long and painful, but I agree with Nicolette. I think it is great that America continues to be a place of opportunity, but things should be conducted legally and if they aren't I feel there should be repercussions.
ReplyDeleteI do not know the process of becoming an American citizen but with the Achieve Act it seems that there are just as many obstacles to overcome to get to stay in the country, but still not even as a citizen. I do not see what the appeal would be to persuade more immigrants to come to the country legally just because there still are so many obstacles. I'm sure that the process of becoming a legal citizen is long and painful, but I agree with Nicolette. I think it is great that America continues to be a place of opportunity, but things should be conducted legally and if they aren't I feel there should be repercussions.
ReplyDeleteI think that this Achieve Act is the GOp's desperate attempt to gain the Latino vote in the midterm elections. If they do not do so, they could easily lose the majority in the house. I personally, agree with the Dream Act, although if some compromises had to be made for the GOP to vote for it I would be ok with that. I just think that the Achieve Act is politically motivated and nothing else.
ReplyDeleteNow, what the dream act does is it gives citizenship to many people. These people include, kids who were taken over the order as babies or young children. All they have known is America, and they pledge allegiance to our flag every day. So why should they not be allowed to call themselves an American? If achieving the American dream dies, than America will die with it. In my opinion, they have as much of a right to be an American as I do.
I do not mind the achieve act, it offers them residency and not citizenship since they obviously have to go through the procedure to become a citizen, but still many of these people are still undocumented and it is illegal and for that they should be punished. I am not sure if it will get the ball rolling though. I cannot help but feel that the government is just bending over backwards to the whims of some of these people just to get their votes. I am in no way against the Latinos, but if you came across the border illegally, no excuses it's illegal, but I have nothing against them becoming full citizens through coming across the border legally. I just want them to do it fairly and not do everything illegally. That being said I can see what Sebastian is saying so maybe they could put a provision in there about that. If you ask me the children should be granted citizenship, while the parents are granted residency until they can become citizens. I disagree with Sebastian on the Dream Act. I feel like they should be granted Residency with the Achieve Act and from there, put something in that allows them to become a citizen after some sort of criteria. Like Johnny Mac said though, the fact that 2 of them are in the lame duck period is disappointing and might keep this bill grounded.
ReplyDeleteAt least some Republicans are making an effort to try and gain the support of Latinos. It's interesting how this act is coming out after the election though. I believe that it would have benefited the republican party if this had come out earlier. I do agree with Brian in regards to what government is wililng to do just to get votes. I am all for everyone who wants to become a citizen, but they still have to go through the proper steps. It seems that the Achieve Act is just a temporary bandaid.
ReplyDeleteThis seems more reasonable than the idea of just deporting every person who didn't come to this country legally, which isn't very realistic. For the most part, illegal immigrants seem to take the worst full time jobs that we have to offer that people living here, who are trying to get better jobs that require a higher level of training to do. The jobs that illegal immigrants do are necessary though for a lot of businesses or farms so you could argue that illegal immigrants actually help the economy. Thus, this proposed law is a seemingly good idea and even though made possibly for political reasons, should be passed.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the Achievement Act will prove to be beneficial for the Republicans in future elections. Just as Dave stated the Achievement Act seems like a very similar to the Dream Act, which leads me to think that it will be passed. However, once again, nothing is for certain due to this gridlock. However, I am completely in support for the Achievement Act, because I believe that latinos work very hard once the reside in America.
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