- Jorge Mariscal
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The Interpretation of Dreams: Covert recruitment strategies in the DREAM Act
From Draft NOtices, November-December, 2004
— Jorge Mariscal
The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, known as the DREAM Act, has received strong support from Latino activists across the country. Throughout the month of September, numerous groups staged rallies and fasts in over fifty cities. What advocates and the media have ignored are the potential consequences of the military service component of the proposed legislation.
According to the latest version of the bill sponsored by Senators Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Richard Durbin (D-IL), immigrants who entered the country five years or more before the bill's enactment and before they were 16 years old would receive provisional U.S. residency.
Permanent residency would be granted if, within six years of obtaining conditional residency, the immigrant graduates from a two-year college, completes two years in a bachelor's degree program, performs 910 hours of volunteer community service, or serves in the U.S. armed forces for two years.