To: President Donald Trump, The United States House of Representatives, and The United States Senate
DREAM ACT / STEP ONE / Acta del Sueño
Grant Immediate United States Citizenship for any child (aged 5 to age 12), living in the U.S. continuously for five or more years, brought here by illegal immigrants.
Conceder la ciudadanía estadunidense para cualquier niño (entre 5 y 12 años de edad) traído por inmigrantes ilegales quien ha vivido en los Estados Unidos por 5 años continuamente.
Why is this important?
Children, born outside the United States, now ages five through age twelve, brought into this country illegally by their parents should be granted immediate United States citizenship if they have lived here for at least five continuous years. They should not be punished for a crime they did not commit or could not prevent.
Currently all children born in the United States, even if their parents are illegal immigrants, are according to the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution American citizens from their birth.
Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
Unfortunately, those children brought into the country after birth are penalized by their parents illegal immigrant status. The Eighth Amendment to the Constitution does not allow cruel and unusual punishments. Punishing children for the crimes of their parents is a cruel and unusual punishment and therefore, is not allowed by our Constitution.
Being born here, even if their parents are criminals, does not deny a child their right to United States citizenship.
Therefore, since children have no way to prevent their parents from committing an illegal act they should not be held accountable and punished for such acts.
They should be afforded the same documentation and recognized status as citizens under our Constitution, even though they were not born here, as those children born in the U.S. of illegal immigrants.