I'm a longtime supporter of the "DREAM Act" and other measures to make the American dream achievable for young people whose parents brought them into the U.S. as babies or young children without benefit of legal immigration papers. To qualify for such special handling, these children would need to successfully complete school in this country, then college or military service, while keeping their noses clean. This would create for them a path to citizenship—as well as to Social Security numbers, bona fide drivers' licenses, and the other paraphernalia of life in the American mainstream, rather than in the shadows.
With Congress paralyzed or hostile, however—the DREAM Act is decried on Capitol Hill as a version of "amnesty for illegals," even though these kids are wholly innocent of the wrongful immigration decision that their parents made many years ago—a few states have quietly done their part to help, such as allowing them to pay in-state rates in state colleges and universities. (California, to its great credit, is one such.) Others, despicably, have intentionally hiked the price for these young people to discourage them from attending. (The argument, of course, is that "the taxpayers should not subsidize such behavior," though that's the norm in the K-12 system.) Now a group of wealthy Silicon Valley types (including Lauren Powell Jobs and Intel's Andy Grove) are pooling private dollars to assist such young people. Their vehicle is "Educators for Fair Consideration," which supplies sundry services (legal, financial aid, etc.) to eligible individuals in the Bay area. Bravo for them—and may more U.S. communities and philanthropists emulate them.
Miriam Jordan, “Tech Titans Fund Undocumented Students,” Wall Street Journal, March 6, 2012
