My Pageant Speech- Education, Not Deportation

Every year, thousands of immigrants graduate high school with the hopes of furthering their education. Every year, thousands of immigrants are unable to go to college because they are undocumented. Each of those immigrants has a dream.

The DREAM Act was proposed to help each of those thousands of immigrants receive a higher education and become legal US citizens. It’s aimed towards minors and young adults who will or have already graduated from an American high school and pledge to either join the military or go to college for at least two years. Each of the DREAMers must have had been in the US for at least five years at the time of its enactment, as well as be in good legal standings.

These DREAMers may be your neighbors or your children’s best friends. They may even be valedictorians and yet…they can’t even go to college. Instead they have to worry about being kicked out of the only country that they have ever called home. Their families came to the US because it’s the “land of the free” and for better opportunities. They’re getting the jobs that no one else wants and they’re getting paid less for them just so that their children can be successful. They’re working hard to stay here and they deserve to be here. They are practically Americans- they celebrate our independence day; They attend our schools and churches; They contribute to our communities; And most importantly, they’ve become a part of us- a part of the American dream.

Every day thousands of immigrants say the American Pledge of Allegiance and every day thousands of immigrants live in fear of being deported. The DREAM Act is not amnesty. It’s a real solution for a real problem and it’s time we make this DREAM a reality!

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