President Obama: Make the Dream Act the First Legislation of your Second Term

Dear President Obama,

Congratulations on your recent victory in the election booths and on securing a second term as our president. The voters spoke decisively and clearly when they said that they would rather give you a second term than turn the reins of power over to Mitt Romney. Your capture of 332 electoral votes—including all if the “swing states”—indicates that you have a mandate to control the agenda during the start of your next term and to pursue the fulfillment of your campaign promises.

While there are numerous issues facing our country—the “fiscal cliff”, decaying infrastructure, and persistent unemployment are three examples—I am contacting you to request that you begin your second term by advancing federal legislation that implements a “Dream Act”. During the campaign for your second presidential term, you repeatedly espoused support for such an act, and I would hope that it would be a high priority once your second term begins.

For years the idea of a federal Dream Act has been circulating around Washington, only to be defeated or kicked down the road because of issues of politics. To a cynical mind it would appear that the promise of a Dream Act has simply been a ploy, intended to entice Hispanics and supporters of immigrant rights into supporting political candidates who haven’t had any intentions of following through on their promises; fortunately you have a very real opportunity to remedy this cynicism and to finally pass real immigration reform.

A Dream Act, which gives those who are willing to prove that they are contributing members of society a streamlined pathway to citizenship, is simply good policy. Children who were brought into this country and who grew up living as Americans should be given every opportunity to become citizens. If these individuals are pursuing an education or are serving in our armed services, they are proving that they are contributing members of society and are the very people who should be first in line for citizenship. Rather than forcing these hardworking individuals to live in the legal purgatory of an undocumented status, it is moral and beneficial to the country to let them become citizens.

If Dream Act–eligible undocumented immigrants are given a full chance to be part of our society, they will become a force for good within our country. These individuals are pursuing an education and are striving to become high-functioning members of society—in the face of our declining academic rankings, it makes no sense to marginalize some of our most dedicated students for something over which they have no control.

Without legal status, these highly-skilled “Dreamers” are unable to advance themselves to their full potential and are often forced to relegate themselves to low-skilled labor. The fear of discovery prevents them from ever achieving all of which they are capable, and our society is the worse for it. In addition to the effects on society, these undocumented Dreamers face constant fear and the threat of exploitation.

The passage of a Dream Act would benefit society—as it would add a largely untapped population of intelligent and dedicated individuals to our workforce—and would finally allow those who, for all intents and purposes, are Americans to finally be considered full members of our country.

The Political Perspective

In politics, much of what prevents good policy from being passed is the partisan bickering and ideological fighting which is endemic to Washington. Fortunately, this is one case where the decision is very clear: passing a Dream Act is politically possible, and the group which does pass it will be remembered favorably by those who look back at this period of American history.

You, as president, have the opportunity to be the champion of this issue and to lead both parties towards the passage of a Dream Act. The push to pass a Dream Act will not use up your political capital and even has the potential to increase it. A strong bipartisan policy success in the early portion of your second term would certainly benefit everything else that you could choose to do for the remainder of your time in office.

The public supports the idea of a pathway to citizenship and would be receptive to arguments for the passage of a Dream Act. While you obviously have experts advising you, I would suggest that you frame the debate in the following manner:
• The Moral Argument: Individuals who were not born in America, yet who were brought here as children to grow up as Americans, may not legally be considered American, but this doesn’t mean that they are any less American. They grew up here, follow our laws, have our values, and love our country as much as any other American. After all, we are a nation of immigrants, and the only difference between our ancestors and those who would benefit from the Dream Act is that the laws which make the Dreamers “undocumented” weren’t in place when our ancestors came to this country.

• Societal Benefits: E...