Immigrants Fear Loss Of Opportunity If DREAM Act Fails
CHICAGO (WBBM) -- A vote on the "DREAM Act" in the U.S. Senate has been put off because Democrats don't have the votes to get it passed right now.
The legislation would offer a conditional path to citizenship for illegal immigrants who earn a college degree or enlist in the military. Newsradio 780's Mike Krauser talked to some young women who would benefit.
Cindy came to this country when she was 3-years-old. She's a senior in college and wants to be a teacher. She wants to continue her education but can't get a job and can't get a college loan.
LISTEN: Newsradio 780's Mike Krauser Reports
Podcast
"If the DREAM Act passes, I'll be able to get loans," she said. "I'll be able to work as a teaching assistant and I'll be able to become a teacher and help out my community, which is what I would like to do in the future."
She says she's every bit an American as anyone else.
"I am an American. The only thing is I wasn't born here. I don't have anything that says that I can work legally. But I am an American. I grew up here. I listened to the same music growing up as every other child out there. I went to school here. I learned English and I am an American. I take the American values to heart and that's what I believe in."
Rayna Wences is in this country illegally.
Passage of the DREAM Act, she says, would allow her to pursue her education, and "to be a sociology professor at some point in my life."
A majority of Republicans, including Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk, oppose the DREAM act. They say the bill amounts to forgiveness for illegal immigrants under the age of 30
