One bite at a time

There are some valid fears out there that Congress is working on comprehensive immigration reform again. Only this time they are doing it by tagging bits-and-pieces on to other legislation.

I suppose that way they get fewer calls, e-mails, and faxes from citizens.

For example, the DREAM act is on the table again, thanks to Dick Durbin and Harry Reid. Actually, that piece of reform is quite a plum for those who vote for it. Who can be against college kids earning their citizenship by going to school?

Personally, I am opposed to it simply because it is another magnet that draws illegals. Not to mention it is a reward for bad behavior. And it is coupled with subsidized tuition at state colleges in ten states (including California and Texas, the top two destinations for illegals).

How much is a subsidy? For Illinois, FAIR calculated it at $12,920 per student per year!

So, the family sneaks across the desert with a child in tow (dumb, to begin with) and we educate them for free in public schools. Let’s say $5,000 a year over 13 years. Then we add four years of college ($12,920 x 4) for a taxpayer hit of $116,680.

And for all of that we are going to grant them citizenship?

So, Durbin is attaching it to the Defense Authorization Bill. Here’s his rationale in a speech on July 13th: “A recent study by the Center for Naval Analyses concluded: Non-citizens have high rates of success while serving [in the military]--they are far more likely, for example, to fulfill their enlistment obligations than their U.S.-born counterparts. The study also concluded that there are additional benefits to enlisting noncitizens. For example, noncitizens ``are more diverse than citizen recruits--not just racially and ethnically, but also linguistically and culturally. This diversity is particularly valuable as the United States faces the challenges of the Global War on Terrorism.'' The DREAM Act is not just the right thing to do; it would be good for America. The DREAM Act would allow a generation of immigrant students with great potential and ambitions to contribute to the military and other sectors of American society.”
(end of Durbin’s speech.)

Does anyone else feel weird that we have non-citizens in the military? I know we always have, but it gives me the creeps, especially given the failure of our nation to identify goofs in the past. Remember the soldier who was throwing grenades into tents in Kuwait in 2003? (I know, Akbar was a citizen. I’m just pointing out that the military doesn’t vet very well.) It just seems odd that we would want more of them.