Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Via Twitter:

I will move the DREAM Act as a standalone bill in the lame duck. It’s good for the economy & Pentagon says good for natl security.

And so here it comes.  As we have previously reported, the misleadingly named “DREAM Act” creates a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants who entered the United States as children.  Individuals that prove to be of “good moral character” and either receive a college degree or complete at least two years of U.S. military service would qualify them to receive citizenship.

But lost in all the cheerful sounding rhetoric is the very dangerous fine print.  Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) has issued a press release about the Dems’ DREAM Act and identified the following critical points about what the act really accomplishes:

1. The DREAM Act Is NOT Limited to Children, And It Will Be Funded On the Backs Of Hard Working, Law-Abiding Americans

2. The DREAM Act PROVIDES SAFE HARBOR FOR ANY ALIEN, Including Criminals, From Being Removed or Deported If They Simply Submit An Application

3. Certain Criminal Aliens Will Be Eligible For Amnesty Under The DREAM Act

4. Estimates Suggest That At Least 2.1 Million Illegal Aliens Will Be Eligible For the DREAM Act Amnesty. In Reality, We Have No Idea How Many Illegal Aliens Will Apply

5. Illegal Aliens Will Get In-State Tuition Benefits

6. The DREAM Act Does Not Require That An Illegal Alien Finish Any Type of Degree (Vocational, Two-Year, or Bachelor’s Degree) As A Condition of Amnesty

7. The DREAM Act does not require that an illegal alien serve in the military as a condition for amnesty, and There is ALREADY A Legal Process In Place For Illegal Aliens to Obtain U.S. Citizenship Through Military Service

8. Despite Their Current Illegal Status, DREAM Act Aliens Will Be Given All The Rights That Legal Immigrants Receive—Including The Legal Right To Sponsor Their Parents and Extended Family Members For Immigration

9. Current Illegal Aliens Will Get Federal Student Loans, Federal Work Study Programs, and Other Forms of Federal Financial Aid

10. DHS Is Prohibited From Using the Information Provided By Illegal Aliens Whose DREAM Act Amnesty Applications Are Denied To Initiate Their Removal Proceedings or Investigate or Prosecute Fraud in the Application Process

South Florida’s Republican Congressional Delegation is also split on the matter, as Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart and Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen are supporters of this act.   Their support of this law in indefensible in many regards, not the least of which are millions of desperate unemployed American workers and our near 10 percent unemployment rate.  Why do we want to issue work permits to illegal aliens at this juncture when 22 million Americans can’t find a full-time job?

Newly elected Senator Marco Rubio does not stand in solidarity with his ‘neighborhood’ Congressional representatives, as he has fervently opposed the Dream ACT since beginning his Senatorial run in 2009.  He issued the following statement to the Shark Tank:

“As I’ve said before, obviously there are children who are brought here by their parents when they were very young, illegally, but who are high academic achievers or want to serve in the Armed Forces and we should figure out a way to accommodate children in that specific situation. But the DREAM Act, as I have read it, goes well beyond that. It’s much broader and is not the right approach to that issue. In fact, it makes having a legal immigration system that works harder to accomplish. I have the same position I had during the campaign.”– Senator-Elect Marco Rubio

Supporters of DREAM continue to mislead the public and dominate the rhetoric by talking about a very small group of teenage students who shouldn’t be punished for the illegal actions of their parents who supposedly brought them to the U.S. as young children.  In actuality, the law will cover far illegal immigrants that this small group.  Instead, we should be supporting the implementation of E-Verify to guarantee that American citizens are given preference and illegals are restricted from obtaining employment.

By expressing their support for the “Dream Act”, Ros-Lehtinen and Diaz-Balart are now in bed with President Obama, Harry Reid and Congressional Hispanic Caucus-all 23 members of which are Democrats and who have sympathies for the Castro/Chavez regimes.  And they say that politics makes for strange bedfellows?  Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen and Congressman Diaz-Balart need to reconsider their position on the issue and reflect accurately on the damage it would do to both our national security and our economy- regardless of what Harry Reid says.