Please add your sample DREAM Act letters

[Imp]

Guys, the he DREAM Act is set to be added as an amendment by Sen. Harry Reid next week. As Los G pointed out in another thread, we have only a week to encourage support of this Act.

I plan to contact my Senators by phone, by email and by mail every day between now and the final vote on this bill. If you do as well, please consider posting your letters in this thread so that other members can get ideas of what to say.

Please consider advocating even if your case is complete or if the DREAM Act would not benefit you- we all know how valuable an avenue to legalization is and this could help an estimated 825,000 to 2 million kids.

[Imp]

Here's the letter I sent yesterday. Fell free to copy, or use it for ideas.

"
I am writing to strongly encourage your support of the DREAM act amendment to the defense policy bill now being considered. This is the single most important voting issue for me personally and for many of my family and friends.

We have waited entirely too long to offer a realistic path to legalization for so many kids and young adults who are as American as you and me in their hearts and minds. The additional requirement that they have clean criminal records, high school diplomas and two years of college or military service further ensures that these are exactly the kind of responsible “future citizens” that will contribute to the success of our country. This is not a partisan issue, but one of practicality.

It is impractical to think that if we fail to offer this opportunity that these individuals will self-deport. For them, their countries of birth are as foreign as they would be to you and me. Many no longer speak their native languages, nor have any family or ties to their birth-countries. To remove them to countries they have not seen since they were young children would be, in many cases, a death sentence.

It is further impractical to imagine that because these individuals do not have work authorization, that they are not working. Everyone in this country must work to survive and in the absence of work authorization, many are left without avenues to pay their income taxes, but nearly all are working. In this troubled economy, we need their share of income taxes and their employers need the stability of knowing these workers will not suddenly disappear.

In no other area do we punish children for the sins of their parents. In the case of these children and young adults, we are leaving them trapped between a life in the shadows and a homeland they do not know, not because they broke the law but because their parents did. In my opinion, this is truly cruel and not consistent with American values.

The larger issue of immigration reform is truly unconnected to these children and young adults. We can later debate what to do with those among us who chose to break the law and enter our country illegally or overstay their visas. These children are not part of that group- they are innocents paying an impossible price for the choices their parents made and living in the shadows of the only home they have ever known. To do nothing to help them would be, in my view, absolutely un-American.

Our military needs those eager to serve. Our economy needs those eager to educate themselves and live up to their full potential. Our country needs their tax dollars and these children need the stability of knowing that through their hard work and service, the country they call home, the United States, really will be their home forever.

Please continue to support the DREAM Act amendment.

Sincerely,"

[Imp]

Here are some writing points from IRLC:
http://www.ilrc.org/dream_act/pdf/DR...%20Toolkit.pdf

ARGUMENT 1: The DREAM Act allows our nation to recoup the investments it
made when it funded the education of the DREAM Act students during the 12 years
they were in primary and secondary schools.
Our nation has invested a great amount of wealth and resources in raising and educating
the DREAM Act students. Currently, undocumented children have a legal right to attend
public schools starting at the elementary level continuing all the way till senior year of high
school.
The DREAM Act requires the DREAM Act students to either complete 2 years at a 2-year or
4-year college or serve for 2 or more year in the armed forces. As a result, they will work in
civilian and military sectors, paying taxes, and become contributing members of our society.

ARGUMENT 2: The education requirements of the DREAM Act reduce the dropout
rates among the DREAM Act students.
According to the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), school completion rates have historically
been low among the DREAM Act beneficiaries. For example, in 2000, only 40 percent of
undocumented Hispanic males between the ages 1824, who arrived to the U.S. before age
16, had completed high school or obtained a GED. And there is a strong possibility that the
school completion rates would increase dramatically the passage of the DREAM Act an
incentive for undocumented students to complete high school and continue onto college.

ARGUMENT 3: The DREAM Act will increase the prosperity of our nation because
it will enable thousands of individuals to join its workforce and pay taxes.
Currently, our nation is facing one of the toughest economic periods in recent decades.
The national debt is at an all time high, the ratio of the retirees to working individuals is
increasing. There is a shortage of high skilled workers. The DREAM Act will transform
individuals, who grew up in the U.S., into contributing members of the society . In turn, they
will work or help defend out country, pay taxes, and add to the diversity of our nation.

ARGUMENT 4: The DREAM Act offers the opportunity for a generation of talented
young people who have grown up in this country to achieve their dreams.
In many cities and towns across this nation the DREAM Act students live side by side with
their “documented” American friends: together they learn the same lessons while sharing
the same classrooms, listen to the same music and laugh at the same jokes, and above all
they all share a belief in the American dream. The DREAM Act presents an opportunity for
a generation of talented young people, who were raised on American values, to fully integrate
into our society and achieve their American dream.

[Imp]

Here's my letter from today:

"Dear Sen.

I hope you will consider support for the DREAM Act amendment. This is an important voting issue for me and members of my family.

My father served proudly in the United States Air Force in a time of war and I have seen too many close friends come home after their second, third and fourth tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. Our military needs new recruits and the DREAM Act would not only give our military a needed boost but allow these young adults to give back to our country. This is a win-win situation.

I am glad that legislators have thoughtfully required a high school diploma, a clean criminal record and military service or college with at least 5 years of presence in the U.S. By setting the bar so high, we are ensuring that we will be getting responsible driven young people with a desire to give back.

These kids and young adults can't realistically go home to countries they don't know. By providing a route to college, this will reduce the temptation for these kids to drop out and encourage college attendance. The clean criminal record requirement will encourage kids to stay out of trouble and work toward the future. When they grow up, they will be able to contribute to our economy by paying income taxes.

I am encouraged by the bi-partisan support for this amendment and hope that legislators will continue to recognize that this issue is separate from the larger issue of immigration. Our country stands to benefit tremendously from the DREAM Act.

Thank you for your support."

[Imp]

Wow, no one else has letters?

[Imp]

Here's today's letter:

"Dear Sen.

I was pleasantly surprised to hear that Sen. Reid planned to introduce the DREAM Act as an amendment to the defense bill next week.

I am writing to strongly urge you to support this bill. Many of our troops have served honorably on three and four tours abroad and they and their families are exhausted. Our military desperately needs the new recruits this bill will bring.

I understand that many have said that the place for this bill is inside an immigration reform bill. I disagree. The kids and young adults who stand to benefit from this Act are separate from the larger issue of immigration. They didn’t chose to break our laws, their parents did. In a sense, they are victims and we must deal with victims and lawbreakers separately.

I do think we need a serious discussion of border security and our immigration system, but you and I both know that politics will simply not allow that to happen anytime soon. Meanwhile, our military is over-extended and suffering. This is an opportunity to send them real aid in the form of new troops, and to do the compassionate thing for young people who are, in their hearts, Americans.

Please consider lending your support to this amendment.

Sincerely,
"

[Imp]

Guys, tomorrow is the big day, please write your Senators now!