Carlos Marquina

Blocking the Dream: Latinos’ Attempt to Block the DREAM Act

          The DREAM Act, or the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act has been a hotly contested proposal for more than a decade. In the original proposal by senators Dick Durbin and Orrin Hatch, the bill would provide provisional permanent residency to young illegal aliens who had come to the United States as children as long as they were of good moral character, had graduated from a U.S. high school, or were enrolled in an institution of higher learning or in the armed forces. Basically, it would allow the full American Dream to individuals who have already bought into the dream of working hard, following the rules, and getting a higher education. Yet, the bill has been struck down time and time again in both the house and the senate. What I have found most interesting, however, is the continuous attempts to block or change the bill by Republican Latino lawmakers.

          In the recent months, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida has become a spokesperson for the DREAM Act. His version, however, is very limiting and does not allow for a full path to citizenship by these young aliens. The best they can hope for is provisional residency through student or work visas. They would be allowed to work, study, and play a role in American life without becoming Americans.

          Republican Rep. David Rivera has recently proposed his STARS (Studying Towards Adjusted Residency Status) Act that would allow for aliens to apply for residency but only until they turn 19 years old. Although this bill would allow for some young aliens to become citizens, it very narrowly limits the amount of people that could benefit. Rep. Rivera states that his bill is meant to start the conversation regarding immigration reform in the House of Representatives. So over ten years after Senators Durbin and Hatch first introduced the DREAM Act, the conversation is just about to begin?

          The most interesting aspect of this debate is the immigrant background of those involved lawmakers. Marco Rubio was born to Cuban immigrants. David Rivera’s background is very difficult to find. His website makes no mention of any immigrant narrative, noting only that he was born in New York City and that he has lived in Miami, Florida for 35 years. He has published articles on US-Cuba relations. Senator Durbin was born in St. Louis to an Irish-American father and a Lithuanian-born mother. Senator Hatch was born in Pittsburgh to parents of English descent. His great-grandfather founded Vernal, Utah. These four players in the immigration debate come from different immigrant backgrounds.

          As we studied through the course, we have two Old World immigrants and two New World immigrants. Why is it that the Old World immigrants, who by observation are fully assimilated and by color-code are clearly a part of the dominant culture, are so open to allowing new immigrants into America and benefiting from the American Dream? And why are the other two, who have closer immigrant and cultural ties to the huge wave of recent New World immigrants, so adamant in limiting the numbers of those who can legally join the American society? I’m sure that over-generalizing the political feelings of four men to include their entire constituency is not good, but it would seem that the opposite should be true: that the Latino lawmakers be in favor of Latino immigrants and that the Anglo lawmakers would be in opposition.

          In a book titled Crossing Borders, Reinforcing Borders: Social Categories, Metaphors, and Narrative Identities on the U.S.-Mexico Frontier by Pablo Vila, Vila describes the narrative process of identity formation along the U.S.-Mexico border. He expects to find that people organize their identities around the axial divide of Anglo-Americans and Mexicans along the border. Instead he finds several plots that incorporate ethnicity, nationality and Mexican region of birth. For instance, people from Juarez, Mexico look down upon newcomers from the south who they blame for the city’s ills. There is also a distinction between Juarenses and Mexican-Americans across the border, whom they regard as inferior because they have become addicted to American consumerism. These distinctions they make on themselves, however, are lost on Anglos who see them as any other Mexican.

          I would like to explore this topic in more depth to see how the different personal identity of immigrants affects not only their assimilation into American culture, but how they interact with other immigrants.

Bibliography 

Foley, Elise. "Dream Act: David Rivera Is First Republican To Propose Immigration Amnesty." Huffington Post 31 05 2012, n. pag. Web. 9 Jul. 2012. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/18/marco-rubio-david-rivera-dream-act-senate-house_n_1606957.html>.

Foley, Elise. "Marco Rubio Abandons Senate Dream Act-Style Bill, But David Rivera Backs Plan For House." Huffington Post 18 06 2012, n. pag. Web. 9 Jul. 2012. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/18/marco-rubio-david-rivera-dream-act-senate-house_n_1606957.html>.

Rivera, David. "Biography." David Rivera for U.S. Congress. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Jul 2012. <http://www.davidrivera.org/index-1.html>.

Rubio, Marco. "Biography." Marco Rubio: United States Senator for Florida. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Jul 2012. <http://www.rubio.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/biography>.

Spencer, David. "Book Review:Crossing Borders, Reinforcing Borders: Social Categories, Metaphors, and Narrative Identities on the U.S.-Mexico Frontier. By Pablo Vila. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2000. Pp. xiv􏰀290. $42.50 (cloth); $19.95 (paper).." American Journal of Sociology. n. page. Web. 9 Jul. 2012. <http://www.trinity.edu/dspener/publications/vila-review.pdf>.

Wikipedia contributors. "DREAM ACT." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Web. 9 Jul 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DREAM_Act>.

Wikipedia contributors. "Dick Durbin." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Web. 9 Jul 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Durbin>.

Wikipedia contributors. "Orrin Hatch." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Web. 9 Jul 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orrin_Hatch>.