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GOP Senators Targeted in Six-Figure DREAM Act Ad Buy

2 years ago
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A coalition of labor and advocacy groups has launched a "six-figure" ad campaign aimed at Republican senators whose votes are needed to pass the DREAM Act before the current session of Congress runs out.

The AFL-CIO said Tuesday that the ads will run in print publications and on radio all this week in Maine, Boston, Miami, Houston and Las Vegas.

The GOP lawmakers being targeted are: Florida Sen. George LeMieux; Maine Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe; Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown; Nevada Sen. John Ensign; and Texas Sens. John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison. Most of them voted for the DREAM Act three years ago and advocates hope they will again.

The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act is expected to come up for a vote before the end of the year. The measure would offer a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children age 15 or younger. Those who meet certain conditions -- such as a U.S. high school diploma or GED -- would be eligible for federal student loans, in-state tuition rates, military service and, ultimately, citizenship.

Helping the AFL-CIO pay for the ad campaign are SEIU, the Campaign for Community Change, the Reform Immigration for America Campaign and America's Voice.

Listen to the Boston-area ad:

Filed Under: Ads

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Carol Baker

As a retired educational associate in classes with many high school immigrant students, I propose the following basis for legal educational resident status. Any form of Dream Act legislation should require high standareds of English literacy. The "dreams" of U. S. immigrants should include functioning in English as early as possible, so they have the best chance of success in their education and careers. If our nation is to remain The United States, we must require English to be the common educational language. Current diversity of language requirements are dividing us and costing needless millions in U. S. debt. Before international lobbies became powerful, U. S. school children learned from qualified English speaking teachers to function in English as soon as possible. If todays' immigrants want to speak the language of their parents' native cultures in schools, they should be educated in those native nations. Parents who invaded U. S. borders or overstayed visas to remain here have broken our immigration laws. They and their children should not be rewarded by staying, privileged, at the head of the line in front of people waiting to come and live in the U. S. lawfully. If young people want to become productive U. S. citizens they will have the patience and respect for our laws to restart the entry process from their parents' native countries and gain lawful entry, becoming fully English literate as productive residents and then citizens. Families in foreign nations were divided for people to come to the U. S., or remain here illegally. The division of families, or lack of recent contact with parents' native nations, should not be valid excuses for giving advantage to law breakers over law abiding immigrants. One reason many flee to the U. S. is because too many people in our world are allowing the easiest path of least resistance to rule their behavior and communities. There must be firm resistance to illegal activity--or chaos, mahem and criminals eventually rule. This is now happening in too many communities in our U. S. because of strong predatory forces exploiting the plight of immigrants and U. S. social and health safety nets.

December 02 2010 at 4:49 AM Report abuse +3 rate up rate down Reply
ruardch

I have a choice for those who come here as children and are illigal go into the miliary serve 4 years like our sons and daughters. Then go to college and get your education after you have served honorably for those 4 years applied for citizanship . Through the GI bill of rights.

December 01 2010 at 11:02 AM Report abuse +4 rate up rate down Reply
truthforfreedom

The vast majority of American's do not want the dream act. Illegals need to get out or become legal. They should never have been allowed to benefit by our resources in the first place. They are being used by greedy, averice democrats who want them here only for their vote, the same way poor people in this country are being used. Democrats buy votes with entitlement programs. Sickening and dishonest. I call that abuse. It's criminal to force people into and stay in poverty, if you ask me. Instead of propping them up by allowing them to seek out their own destiny, the federal government enslaves them for their own power mongering selves. Entitlements keep you at a very low level and only a very few rise above it. Those that do rise above it, never intended to stay on welfare, they were in temporary need of assistance only. Those that stay in it have never been given the opportunity, because of their mindset and now will never climb out of poverty, thanks to our government. Criminal.

December 01 2010 at 10:13 AM Report abuse +1 rate up rate down Reply
brittanicus01

If foreign nationals are eager to join the military, they don't need a free pass to college. They can use the GI bill when leaving the forces with an honorable discharge. Anyone who is willing to fight for this country deserves to live here. Take college off the table, make the prerequisite of military service and congratulate them for serving their new nation by giving them citizenship and then sending them to college under the GI bill. I will applaud and thank anyone who is willing to risk his or her life to protect my liberty. So why are the officers in attendance at the military recruiting centers, not aware that non-citizens can still join any arm of the services? Or could it be most students have no intentions of becoming part of the army, marines, navy or air forces, using this issue to avoid any deportation? Another provision that misleads the public is the fact that an illegal alien can join the military in this time of martial conflict and collect as a guarantee a path to citizenship. Under current law (10 USC § 504), the Secretary of Defense can authorize the enlistment of illegal nationals. Once enlisted in the U.S. Armed Forces, under 8 USC § 1440, these illegal aliens can become naturalized citizens through expedited processing, often obtaining U.S. citizenship in six months? NumbersUSA

December 01 2010 at 1:42 AM Report abuse +6 rate up rate down Reply
antarez7

Keep Dreaming !!! Why reward criminals. If this BS passes the next thing they will do is petition for their Illegal parents to get citizenship and then their entire familia,NO WAY !!!!! SI SE PUEDE,DEPORTATION!!!!!

December 01 2010 at 1:18 AM Report abuse +9 rate up rate down Reply
wbnbr

We have a dream also, that is that the American Politicians who work for the American people get their act together and vote this Dream Act down and start spending our monies wisely to benefit the American People. Our dream is that illegal and their offspring return to their former homes and reapply to come to America legally.

December 01 2010 at 12:10 AM Report abuse +11 rate up rate down Reply
KELLI2L

The "Dream Act" for illegal aliens must be such a disappointment to all those people who follow the letter of the law and are waiting patiently to be accepted into the USA - - It is just plain crazy to spend the American taxpayers money on this crap while American citizens are in need of college educations too. . . What are the American leaders thinking, or do they even think at all ??? ......It's obvious they have LOST whatever common sense they might have had !!!

November 30 2010 at 11:35 PM Report abuse +15 rate up rate down Reply
verdure33

This is an easily solved issue. For all of those US Citizens that would like these young folks to go to college, they can create multiple tax-free donation foundations and get all of those people that can afford to pay for others children to go to college to donate. I personally am struggling to put my ONE AND ONLY child that was born and raised here in the US through college.....I certainly do not see my taxes going to others until such time that I do not have to pay anything....

November 30 2010 at 11:26 PM Report abuse +20 rate up rate down Reply
cellairiswinc

I pray to God that this dream act passes. I've been in the US since I was 7 years old. When my parents immigrated to the states they went on the right path to get their citizenship but during the process the attorney who was dealing their case never filed for extension of their I-94.(I-94:Is a card that tell a person how long they can stay in the US before returning home or applying for citizenship.) The lawyer had already taken $5000 from my parents for filing our family's case.Due to the lawyer not applying for an extension we became illegal and he never gave us our money back. I'm 20 years old now I cant go to college or join the United States Air Force or any branch of military. I have taken many practice ASVAB test and my scores are always close to 75-80. God bless America! I would die for this country.THIS IS MY COUNTRY AND ALWAYS WILL BE *I DO PAY MY TAXES THROUGH MY TAX ID NUMBER. *I volunteer at the local free medical clinic. *I donate to money to local and national charities. *I donate blood,I don't drink,smoke. *English is the only language I know how to read and write. *All the money I do make I spend it in the United States because this is my home. *please you don't have to have sympathy for me but just think about my situation. GOD BLESS UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

November 30 2010 at 11:18 PM Report abuse -10 rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to cellairiswinc's comment
dc walker

...A legal visitor gets a visa, sometimes as long as ten years, and the attached I94 tells you how long you can stay at ONE time, a month, two months, etc. It does not replace the visa or give you legal access to stay in the US.. that lawyer sold you a bill of goods you should have directly gone back to the consulate or a US immigration office. I have no sympathy, there are twenty million people who don't care about US laws or the American people. They want freebies and they want someone else to pay the tab.

December 01 2010 at 9:54 AM Report abuse +2 rate up rate down Reply
oldengineera2

Who benefits and who pays? Why are interest groups poised to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to influence the voting?

November 30 2010 at 10:41 PM Report abuse +16 rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to oldengineera2's comment
trb2244

That's right: follow the money (or the votes!)

December 01 2010 at 1:48 PM Report abuse +2 rate up rate down Reply

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