To accompany the final article in a Times series on immigration, Room for Debate examines the situation of young illegal immigrants who came to the United States as children with their parents and were raised and educated here. The article on the topic will appear over the weekend.
Legislation (called the Dream Act) sponsored by Senators Richard Durbin, Democrat of Illinois, and Richard Lugar, Republican of Indiana, would give some of these young immigrants a chance to become permanent residents. It would extend to those who have stayed out of trouble, graduated from high school and either finished two years of college or two years of military service, and there would be a six-year conditional status period.
We’ve asked three immigration specialists what to do about this particular immigrant population, which is estimated at one million people. The discussion also includes the perspective of two young immigrants, Prerna and Nick, who were brought to the United States by their parents and who have been here a decade or more. They asked that their last names not be used because they do not have legal papers.
Please join the discussion in the comments section here.
- Tamar Jacoby, ImmigrationWorks USA
- Mark Krikorian, Center for Immigration Studies
- Nick, Dream Act Portal
- Prerna, promigrant.org
- Hiroshi Motomura, U.C.L.A. law professor
Let's pass the DREAM Act in 2009. Take action now!
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