MEASURE ALSO WOULD GIVE ILLEGAL ALIENS ACCESS TO FEDERAL STUDENT LOANS
 

Washington, Dec 8, 2010 -

“We are a nation of laws and there is a right way to enter the country, and that is to wait your turn and to comply with our laws,” said Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Sixth).  “This legislation would provide mass amnesty to those here illegally, subsidize their education, promote further illegal immigration, and take jobs from American citizens when the national unemployment rate is nearly 10 percent and even higher in Florida.  This measure is tremendously unfair to those who went through the rewarding process to become legal citizens.”  Stearns, a member of the bi-partisan Immigration Reform Caucus, is committed to reforming our immigration laws and protecting our borders.

Stearns today voted against H.R. 5281, the DREAM Act, which the House approved.  This measure would allow individuals in the nation illegally who are under the age of 30 to become eligible for citizenship.  Explained Stearns, “Under this bill, once illegal immigrants become citizens and turn 21 years of age, they can sponsor their parents for legal citizenship.  This type of chain migration only encourages further illegal immigration.”

Added Stearns, “The DREAM Act beneficiaries would be eligible for certain higher education assistance programs, including federal Stafford student loans that are subsidized by taxpayers.”

The measure fails to address the massive potential for fraud.Noted Stearns, “Although applicants under the Act must show that they entered the United State before the age of 16, that they graduated from high school, and that they are enrolled in a school of higher learning, the standard for proof is only the ‘preponderance of the evidence’ – meaning they must only show that they are more likely than not eligible for the DREAM Act.  There is no meaningful way to document that their claims are accurate.”   

“Furthermore, those benefiting from the DREAM Act would receive expedited eligibility for public welfare benefits.  This measure would also cost as much as $20 billion in the years following 2020, according to the Congressional Budget Office,” concluded Stearns.