Amnesty in Bite-Sized Pieces

By now it is clear to politicians from both parties that the American public will not swallow what the proponents of amnesty for illegal aliens have called the “whole enchilada.

First up is likely to be the DREAM Act, which the Senate Democratic Whip Richard Durbin is preparing to offer as an amendment to the Defense Authorization bill. What amnesty for illegal aliens has to do with equipping our armed forces is not quite clear, but what is plainly evident is that the backers of this amnesty are hoping slip one by while the public isn’t paying attention.

The DREAM Act, on its face, appears to be the least objectionable of the amnesty hors d’ouevres Congress will be offering up. After all, who can object to offering amnesty and college tuition breaks to kids, students and people who are in some way bettering themselves? First of all, the version of the DREAM Act Durbin is attempting to tack onto the Defense bill is so broadly written that anyone enrolled in a correspondence class might qualify.

But even if the DREAM Act were truly limited to the kids who were brought to this country by the parents, the legislation is still hard to justify. While those kids may have done nothing wrong, failing to reward them with citizenship and a taxpayer subsidized college education is not the same as a punishment. Whatever disadvantage they find themselves in was a consequence of their parents’ decision to break the law. Whenever parents break laws – immigration or others – there are inevitably consequences for other family members, but in every other situation we properly hold the parents responsible for correcting the situation.

If you ask the typical illegal alien, “Why did you come to the U.S. illegally?