Investing in the American Dream: The DREAM Act Would Allow Undocumented Youth to Give Back to America

December 2, 2010

Washington D.C. - Today, the Immigration Policy Center releases Investing in the American Dream: The DREAM Act Would Allow Undocumented Youth to Give Back to America, a Perspectives piece by Dr. Roberto G. Gonzales, an Assistant Professor at the University of Washington School of Social Work. Dr. Gonzales has been conducting a four-and-a-half year study of undocumented immigrant young adults in Los Angeles and a companion study in Seattle.

Dr. Gonzales writes:

"Undocumented immigrant youth - those who migrate at early ages and reside in the United States without legal permission - confront a troubling mix of circumstances. At some point during their adult lives, doors stop opening altogether for undocumented youth. Whether it is a series of blocked opportunities within the labor market or the end of educational opportunities, there comes a time when these young men and women run out of options. These moments contradict all that these young people have been taught in school, and send the message that their dreams will not be realized and that all of their hard work was in vain.

In most respects, these young people are already important members of U.S. society. After having been educated in our schools, they envision their futures here, and powerfully internalize American values and expectations of merit. Paradoxically, their efforts to adapt and contribute economically are met with legal obstacles. Rather than valuing them as important societal resources, current policies restrict their options and curb the transformative potential they have in their communities. Without full legal rights, they are barred from the very mechanisms that have ensured high levels of economic and social mobility to other immigrants throughout U.S. history.

This also means there is significant lost potential for the U.S. Without the incentive and means to continue their education, undocumented youth are not continuing their education, and the U.S. is losing out on their productivity, entrepreneurship, and creativity, as well as tax revenue from their potentially higher earnings."

To read the Perspectives piece in its entirety see:

Investing in the American Dream: The DREAM Act Would Allow Undocumented Youth to Give Back to America (IPC Perspectives, December 2, 2010)

Restrictionist Group Continues Cynical Legacy of Counting Costs While Ignoring Benefits of Immigration

December 1, 2010

Washington D.C. - In a new report, the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) paints a misleading financial portrait of the DREAM Act. The report, entitled Estimating the Impact of the DREAM Act, claims that the bill would be a burden on U.S. taxpayers and would "crowd out" native-born students in the classroom. However, the available evidence does not support either of these dire predictions.

In fact:

• Institutions of higher education overwhelmingly support the DREAM Act, which would likely increase school revenues as students who would not normally attend college start to pay tuition.
• The 10 states which, since 2001, have passed laws allowing undocumented students to qualify for in-state tuition have not experienced a large influx of new immigrant students that displaces native-born students.
• Most DREAM Act students would likely enroll in community colleges, most of which have open enrollment, based on a philosophy that all qualified students should have the opportunity to learn. Historically, more than 80% of community college students hold full or part-time jobs, thus contributing to their own educations (and the tax base) even as they attend school. The American Association of Community Colleges estimates that state and local governments receive a 16% return on every dollar they invest in community colleges due to the increased earnings of college graduates.
• Legalizing DREAM Act students would increase beneficiaries' earnings potential, as well as the U.S. tax base. A 2010 study by the UCLA North American Integration and Development Center estimates that the total earnings of DREAM Act beneficiaries over the course of their working lives would be between $1.4 trillion and $3.6 trillion.

CIS's cynical mischaracterization of the DREAM Act is not only inaccurate, but hypocritical as well. CIS frequently laments that so many immigrants to the United States have low levels of education, yet opposes a measure that would allow some of these immigrants to become more educated. What alternative to the DREAM Act does CIS propose? According to the Center for American Progress the cost to deport more than two million children and young adults who were raised in the United States would be $48.6 billion. How is that sound fiscal policy?

The U.S. economy doesn't need more deportations; it needs more college graduates. According to a recent report from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, "not enough Americans are completing college... by 2018, we will need 22 million new college degrees-but will fall short of that number by at least 3 million postsecondary degrees, Associate's or better." The DREAM Act would help meet this need.