READING 5 Who Are the Dreamers?

Who Are the DREAMERS?

Read the following article. Pay special attention to the words in bold. 9.6

Parents all over the world want the same thing: a bright future for their children. Unfortunately, situations in many countries make this difficult. These situations have resulted in many families immigrating to the U.S., sometimes illegally.

In 2001, the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act (DREAM) was introduced into Congress. As a result, the children of illegal immigrants became known as Dreamers. The act planned to offer them a route to legal residency in the United States. However, the act repeatedly failed to get the votes needed to pass, and therefore, it never became law.

The process of getting the act passed into law was taking so long that in June 2012, the government introduced DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals). This federal program gave Dreamers certain temporary rights. They could legally live, work, and study in the U.S., but they did not have all the same rights as citizens. Nevertheless, they could get a driver’s license, enroll in a college, or obtain a work permit. The future began to open up for the approximately 800,000 dreamers in the U.S.

Luz Divina, for example, was brought to the U.S. from Aguascalientes, Mexico, when she was just two months old: “I didn’t know I was undocumented until my sophomore year of high school when I realized I couldn’t get a drivers’ permit, apply for jobs, and go to college programs like all my friends were doing.” She says she felt depressed for years . . . “until I finally applied for DACA. I finally had a chance at the real world.” Luz’s dream is to become an educator and writer, and to help others with similar problems.

However, it is too soon to talk of a happy ending to the stories of young people such as Luz. There are those who feel that the children of illegal immigrants do not deserve any special treatment. It is such a complex topic that Congress cannot agree on what to do, and the continuation of DACA is in doubt. Consequently, at the time of writing, the future of Dreamers remains uncertain.