Even though I agree with Johnathan Lott's column about the DREAM Act, I have to dispute his use of the term "illegal."
Although it was used only once, such a term is not completely true when it comes to the DREAM Act, and it allows for a lot of misunderstanding. Call me a stickler against generalization, but that is exactly what happens by using that term. Not all children that would benefit from the DREAM Act come from illegal immigrants.
Being undocumented doesn't make you illegal. Like many immigrants, most of these families come to the U.S. legally with visas. They legally attempt to get papers, but for whatever the reasons, their attempts may fail or just take a very long time, making them undocumented, not illegal.
The term illegal is inclusive of the term undocumented but not vice versa. For example, a family can come into the U.S. legally by plane with visas and apply for documentation and permanent residencies. If rejected, however, then they become undocumented, not illegal. Their struggle for documentation simply continues.
Don't be misled by the bad connotation the term illegal implies. These kids deserve the opportunity at higher education that the DREAM Act will be granting, especially since coming to America wasn't their choice. So, embrace the opportunity to make the dreams of thousands of deserving undocumented students come true by supporting the passage of the DREAM Act.
