The DREAM Act: Amnesty or Opportunity?

A new bill could make dreams come true for young illegal immigrants. The Development, Relief and Education of Alien Minors Act, dubbed the DREAM Act, provides a path to citizenship through college attendance or military service.

Frank Sharry, Executive Director of America's Voice, tells Fox News, "these are people who grew up in America and are here illegally through no fault of their own and many want to join the military."

During a Sunday interview on Fox News, Sharry discussed the military's need for volunteers.

"If you look at the strategic plan that Department of Defense has through 2010," said Sharry, "it calls for a DREAM Act."

Sharry isn't the only one pushing the military benefits of the act. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced his intention to bring the measure up for a vote next week, attaching it to the defense authorization bill.

Last Wednesday, President Obama expressed support for the DREAM Act at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute's 33rd Annual Awards Gala.

After pledging to do "whatever it takes" to support efforts to pass the bill, the president added, "it's the right thing to do. We should get it done."

That same day, Sen. David Vitter, R-La., blasted the measure on the Senate Floor.

"At a time when many American families can't afford to send their own children to college," said Vitter, "this bill is an insult to legal tax-paying American citizens whose hard-earned money will be used to finance the education of illegal aliens."

Read more: http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/09/19/dream-act-amnesty-or-opportunity#ixzz106Ob3ARw