Dream Act's time has come

Regarding the Dream Act ["Congress' end-of-the-year to-do list," Editorial, Nov. 29], as long as these illegal students plan to work hard toward something in America, they deserve the right to stay.

I support the Dream Act 100 percent. I believe that I had as much control of being born an American as a child brought to America illegally had control; we both had absolutely no control. These illegal students were brought to America because their parents wanted a better life for them. These students deserve a chance to earn a better life for themselves.

I am against an illegal immigrant gaining legal residency, only to sit around at home all day. If these immigrants become full-time students in college, or join the military, then they should have the right to legal residency. We as Americans should be proud that these students have such a desire to remain in America to make something of themselves.

Jasmine Duperval, Old Westbury

While many people may believe that all illegal immigrants should be thrown out, and even legal immigration to our country should be reduced, I do not think this is the proper response. People complain that these immigrants are not wanted, are taking jobs from Americans, and are using our resources like the public school system without paying taxes. These are all logical and understandable arguments. However, I believe that many people take these opinions a little bit too far.

Almost always, we think of illegal immigrants as being Mexicans who jumped the border. This is a misconception because there are illegal immigrant groups of several different ethnicities. I believe that we often use a sort of racism as an argument against the illegal immigrants.

The argument that these illegal immigrants are taking jobs from Americans is true to a certain point. These jobs often include hard physical labor and pretty low pay, both of which turn many Americans off. We need landscapers, cooks in restaurants, people to wash dishes, people to clean up other people's messes and so much more.

We want to send these people back to the country they came from, but truthfully, they would have difficulty returning to that country because they only know of American life and culture. In this case, I truly believe the Dream Act should be passed to allow exemplary students, who also happen to be illegal immigrants from their childhood, to gain citizenship and therefore be able to go to college.

Elizabeth Woods, Wantagh