Weekend Roundup: Argument for DREAM Act Personified; Remittances in Tough Economy

Sunday's Boston Globe features an article highlighting the impact of the economy on remittances. Despite the sharp economic downturn, global remittances are only expected to decline by 5-8% as migrants dip into their savings to keep their relatives above water oversees. This quote sums it up:

"It's not an option not to send money," said Fatou Diop, a Senegalese immigrant who works as a community liaison at African Services Committee, a non-profit group in Harlem, New York. "When it's hard here, it's horrible in Africa."

Saturday's New York Times had a terrific Op-Ed on the importance of passing the DREAM Act, federal legislation that would give high-achieving undocumented students a pathway to higher education and citizenship. The story of Benita Veliz highlights to barriers undocumented youth face in accessing higher education and, with it, opportunities for professional and personal growth. How a nation can turn down the potential of an entire group of people and relegate them to low-wage jobs is beyond understanding. As the baby boomer generation continues to retire in large numbers, will the U.S. realize too late the wealth of potential that currently resides in the shadows?

...Ms. Veliz is a poster child for the Dream Act, but hardly the only one. For every Benita Veliz, she said, there many others who dropped out because they saw no point in getting a college degree. They are working in low-wage jobs, off the books, their bright futures prematurely dead-ended.

Ms. Veliz’s voice cracks when talking about her case, but she gets excited when asked about her dreams. The words just tumble out:

“I would like to go to law school and be an attorney for a few years, and then after that get into politics on a Congressional level, either senator or representative. I’ve actually always wanted to do international relations, get a master’s in international relations, with a law degree. I would want to do international law, or immigration law, but not really just that, but that’s just one small sort of thing in the long spectrum of things.”

It's time to pass the DREAM Act. Now.

NYT Article Hits and Misses

The New York Times continues its series on new Americans this week with an article about the immigrant workforce in Tennessee, which is being hit hard by the current recession. The article has some interesting and important points, but like most articles on the immigrant workforce, it tends to focus solely on the undocumented workforce and fails to mention the issue of immigrants as taxpayers.

Contrasting the plight of immigrants in the workforce with those of the native-born population, the article discusses the importance of public benefits, such as unemployment insurance and food stamps, in keeping the native-born population above water during the recession. However, not once in the article do they mention that despite immigrants of all statuses paying taxes and contributing to the system, most are barred from accessing the same benefits as their native-born counterparts. Furthermore, the focus of the article exclusively on the undocumented workforce helps spread the misconception that all immigrants, particularly from Mexico, are undocumented.

That said, the article's discussion of macroeconomic forces (outsourcing) on the depression of wages as opposed to blaming immigrant workers is one that should take place more frequently, as is the brief mention of the expanding influence of immigrants in strengthening the labor movement. Finally, the concluding anecdote and quote from the article should be applauded for stressing the unity of all Americans in the struggle to provide for their families during the current economic environment.