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Earlier in the year I wrote that due to the failure of the DREAM Act to pass at the Federal level, some states would begin to pass their own versions of the DREAM Act and others would pass more restrictive immigration laws (a la Arizona’s SB 1070).
At the time I thought that this would be a problem because the nation would embark on the path of creating a patchwork of different laws in different states, leading to confusion and a series of legal and/or political challenges from either side of the immigration debate. And indeed that is now the case, as evinced by the recent passage of the Maryland DREAM Act, which is now being challenged by opponents to the bill who are trying to defeat it via a referendum (on one side of the equation) and the passage of restrictive immigration laws in states such as Alabama and Georgia, which are being legally challenged in the courts as unconstitutional.
I still think that this is a problem, not only because of the confusion that it creates but also because of the added cost and temporary impotence (to the bills passed via state legislative bodies) that the legal challenges are creating.
But I also think that there may be a silver lining in this cloud: I am hoping that the pressure being created at the State level, will increase pressure on Congress and the Administration to do something at the Federal level.
Action is more appropriate at the Federal level anyway, as it is only at the Federal level that a path to citizenship can be established for DREAM Act eligible students and other undocumented aliens. Yes, it is good that some states like Illinois and California are establishing the legal mechanisms via which undocumented students will be able to attend and PAY for their undergraduate education but if there is no action at the Federal level, they won’t be able to put their education to use…not for themselves and not for the rest of the country.
So action HAS to be taken at the Federal level…and I’m hoping that it happens sooner rather than later.