House to reconsider bill to help kids of illegal immigrants

This is an interesting idea. It's a terrible waste to educate these children in our public schools and then, when they graduate not allow them to go to college or get a job. These kids will contribute so much to the community if they are given legal status. DP

By Jessie Mangaliman, Mercury News

Mercurynews.com: The Dream Act, a controversial proposal that would give the children of illegal immigrants who graduate from U.S. high schools legal status, and eventually a path to citizenship, was re-introduced this week in the U.S. House of Representatives, giving its many longtime supporters in the Bay Area and around the country hope for its passage in a new Democrat-controlled Congress.

Since 2002, at least four versions of the legislation have been introduced unsuccessfully in both chambers, each time with bi-partisan support. A similar bill is now in the works in the U.S. Senate, as part of a larger immigration reform bill that's expected in the coming weeks.

At a news conference Friday morning in San Francisco, parents of immigrant children and immigrant advocates praised the new bill not as an amnesty, but a chance ``to give a future to these children.''

``These youngsters don't belong in the streets,'' said Guadalupe Siordia-Ortiz, a member of a Bay Area immigrant parents group, Comite de Padres Unidos. ``We need these children in colleges because they can contribute back to society.''

Hector Vega, a 19-year-old freshman at Santa Clara University and an illegal immigrant who was brought as a child from Mexico by his mother, said he is ``happy and hopeful.''

``I'm really glad that efforts are still continuing for this measure,'' said Vega, who is in his second quarter at the university on a full scholarship. ``I feel more hopeful now because the Democrats are in control.''

Although previous proposals had bi-partisan support, Republican-led opposition in both the House and Senate kept the Dream Act languishing in committees.
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