This past Tuesday President Obama delivered his annual State of the Union address, and as I said on Facebook, watching it doesn't mean you're old – it means you're informed. Since when was listening to the leader of the free world address your country something to be ashamed of? Anyway, the President touched on many hot subjects ranging from the economy to clean energy. There was one section, however that quickly jumped out to me as I watched, and clearly caught the attention of many other leaders in the Asian community:
...hundreds of thousands of talented, hardworking students in this country face another challenge: the fact that they aren’t yet American citizens. Many were brought here as small children, are American through and through, yet they live every day with the threat of deportation. Others came more recently, to study business and science and engineering, but as soon as they get their degree, we send them home to invent new products and create new jobs somewhere else.
We should be working on comprehensive immigration reform right now...let's at least agree to stop expelling responsible young people who want to staff our labs, start new businesses, and defend this country. Send me a law that gives them the chance to earn their citizenship. I will sign it right away.
Without explicitly saying it, Obama was clearly referring to the DREAM Act (Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors), a proposal that people have been fighting to get passed for over ten years. At its core, the DREAM Act looks to grant residency to illegal aliens who arrived as minors but went on to finish high school, which could lead to citizenship if they finish college. Without residency, it's nearly impossible to legally get a job in this country. This is especially harsh on young people who grew up in America and would have to “go back” to a country that they don't even call home to find employment.
I personally first heard about these students' plights on the excellent podcast “This American Life”. On the episode “Nice Work If You Can Get It” (which you can listen to here), they interview a college girl about to graduate who is in good academic standing and has a great work ethic, but she and her parents are undocumented. As such, all she has to look forward to after graduation is uncertainty and if she's lucky, an under-the-table job that probably won't make the most out of her higher education.
Last year, Jose Antonio Vargas, a columnist for the New York Times, wrote about his personal struggles with the same issues in his popular article, “My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant". He moved from the Philippines to live with his grandparents in California at the age of twelve. Jose's first barrier as an undocumented immigrant was when he was told to leave the DMV for having a fake green card when trying to get his driver's license. Since then his problems became more grave and the pressure grew until he wrote that article. Since then, Jose has started the Define American movement which aims to gathers people's personal stories regarding the American immigration system and create a discussion that talks about how the current system is broken.
Several versions of the bill have been introduced in the House and Senate. Generally, it has passed the House but continues to lose in the Senate. Obama's remarks show that he still he strongly supports the bill, and is looking to put a spin on it that shows it would be positive for the economy. And why wouldn't it? Let these people give back to the country that they know and that had given them an opportunity to learn and grow. If corporate outsourcing is bad for the country's economy and innovation on a larger scale, then not passing the DREAM Act is like outsourcing people on an individual scale.
Want to get involved? Start by visiting the Define American site and following @DefineAmerican on Twitter and Jose Antonio Vargas on Twitter (@joseiswriting) and Facebook.
