Penaloza 1 Eduardo Penaloza Instructor: Malcolm Campbell English 1102 09/24/13

United States: United or divided? No matter who you are. No matter where you can came from. No matter what you look like. No matter whether your ancestors landed here on Ellis Island or came here on slave ships or came across the Rio Grande, we are all connected. We will rise and fall together. President Obama, said this in his speech in San Francisco couple of days before re-election. The quote itself says the people living in this country are all connected; but are we really connected? Think about it was until the 1960s we started to do civil rights acts and before then African Americans were free and yet many of them were denied rights and before them their would be laws on different ethnic groups. In New York City the irish and the germans could not work with each other because at their would be stories of how Germans would take over.In the United States the largest minority group are the Hispanics. Each year the number of Hispanics have increased. Many of these Hispanics are 2nd or even 3rd generation Hispanics. What should we do with the 1st generation? For many 1st generation Hispanic they came to the United States as children and had to assimilate to the countrys diverse society. Many of these children had to teach themselves English and have no legal status in the United States. That was the case until recently when the () passed the Deferred Action Policy. With this policy it would give illegal immigrants a way to receive a working permit and give them a social security to give them the ability to get a drivers license. For many young Hispanic they see it as a portal to open new doors. Before they felt as if

Penaloza 2 attending a college or a university was just a distant dream that would be impossible to reach; but now there is a way in which they could attend. DREAM ACT The Dream act was trying to promote help those individuals who meet certain requirements, have an opportunity to enlist in the military or go to college and have a path to citizenship.The DREAM Act was brought up multiple times in the senate but it was rejected. The last time it was brought up it only failed 55 to 41. The argument against the bill was that with these illegals they would take over the US and would also take our job opportunities as many of them would take our jobs. Requirements of DREAM : 1. Must have entered the United States before the age of 16 (i.e. 15 and younger) 2. Must have been present in the United States for at least five (5) consecutive years prior to enactment of the bill 3. Must have graduated from a United States high school, or have obtained a GED, or have been accepted into an institution of higher education (i.e. college/university) 4. Must be between the ages of 12 and 35 at the time of application 5. Must have good moral character (Dreamact.info) Deferred Action Before Presidents Obama reelection he passed a new policy called the Deferred Action. What the deferred action gave was Individuals who have deferred action status can apply for employment authorization and are in the U.S. under color of law. However, there is no direct path from deferred action to lawful permanent residence or to citizenship and it can be revoked at any time. (Immigration equality) Requirements for the Deferred Action

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1. 2. 3.

Were under the age of 31 as of June 15, 2012; Came to the United States before reaching your 16th birthday; Have continuously resided in the United States since June 15, 2007, up to the present time;

4.

Were physically present in the United States on June 15, 2012, and at the time of making your request for consideration of deferred action with USCIS;

5.

Entered without inspection before June 15, 2012, or your lawful immigration status expired as of June 15, 2012;

6.

Are currently in school, have graduated or obtained a certificate of completion from high school, have obtained a general education development (GED) certificate, or are an honorably discharged veteran of the Coast Guard or Armed Forces of the United States; and

7.

Have not been convicted of a felony, significant misdemeanor, three or more other misdemeanors, and do not otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safety. (USCIS)

If the United States was really a equal country we would have all the same rights but limits like legal status set standards for our own rights. For both policies between the Deferred Action and the Dream Act do try to unify the country as a whole but the fear of job stealing and amnesty to immigrants questions the United States as if we are really a free country.