Michelle Malkin | Shamnesty returns: The DREAM Act won't die «

Shamnesty returns: The DREAM Act won't die

By Michelle Malkin • September 17, 2007 06:00 AM

Tell your senator: Vote NO on Senate Amendment 2237

Exactly one week ago, I warned about the return of the DREAM Act, which would confer special tuition benefits on illegal alien students despite federal prohibitions on such special treatment.

It was September 11 and no one was paying attention, I guess.

Well, now bipartisan open-borders lawmakers in Congress are poised to slip the DREAM Act (Senate Amendment 2237 text here) in during consideration of the Department of Defense authorization bill (H.R. 1585) this week.

Numbers USA has the lowdown. The sponsor is Dick Durbin. Open-borders Orrin Hatch has sponsored previous DREAM Act legislation.

Refresher: Re-read Kris Kobach, “Why the DREAM Act Is a Nightmare.” Kobach recounts how 10 states ignored a federal law passed in 1996 to bar in-state tuition preferences for illegal aliens:

In addition to being a dream for those who have broken the law, the DREAM Act raises an even larger issue regarding the relationship between states and the federal government. The 10 states have created a 21st century version of the nullification movement—defying federal law simply because they do not like it. In so doing, they have challenged the basic structure of the republic. The DREAM Act would pardon this offense and, in so doing, encourage states to defy other federal law in the future.

One thing that has been learned in the struggle to enforce federal immigration laws is that states cannot be allowed to undermine the federal efforts to enforce them. Rule of law can be fully restored only if all levels of government are working to uphold it.

I’ve said many times before that when shamnesty doesn’t pass wholesale, the open borders crowd will take it piecemeal. This is just the first piece.

So, which will it be: Sanctuary Nation or Sovereign Nation?

Via Numbers USA, you can send a fax to your Senators now:

Please do not attach any amnesty amendments to the Department of Defense authorization bill.

I am especially concerned about Amendment 2237, which would attach the DREAM Act to the bill. The DREAM Act is a loophole-ridden amnesty that would grant legal status to almost any illegal alien who applied for it.

On its surface, the DREAM Act would provide amnesty to illegal aliens who entered the United States before the age of 16 and grant them in-state tuition. At the very least, these provisions give preferential treatment to students who shouldn’t even be in the country over our own young people – many of whom will struggle to afford higher education.

But that is not all that is wrong with the DREAM Act. The bill was written in such a way that there is no upper age limit and very little burden of proof placed on the applicant. A 45-year-old illegal alien who had entered the country less than a year ago could game the system by simply walking into a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office and providing a sworn statement that he had been in the country since before he was 16. Thus, this is an invitation for just about every illegal alien to fraudulently claim the amnesty.

This is a perfect example of the slippery slope of amnesty. Once you start rewarding some law-breakers, you end up rewarding them all.

Here are Durbin’s co-sponsors…and their phone numbers:

Sen Hagel, Chuck [NE]
202-224-4224

Sen Lugar, Richard G. [IN]
202-224-4814

Sen Leahy, Patrick J. [VT]
202-224-4242

Sen Obama, Barack [IL]
202-224-2854

Sen Lieberman, Joseph I. [CT]
202-224-4041

Sen Feinstein, Dianne [CA]
202-224-3841

Sen Kerry, John F. [MA]
202-224-2742

Sen Feingold, Russell D. [WI]
202-224-5323

Sen Clinton, Hillary Rodham [NY]
202-224-4451

Sen Bayh, Evan [IN]
202-224-5623

Sen Menendez, Robert [NJ]
202-224-4744