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by Don Azarias
February 14, 2011
Now, it’s the Republicans’ turn to take control of the House. They have also gained a few seats to narrow the Democrats’ plurality in the Senate.
As a Fil-Am Republican, and like any other Republican, I’m glad that this thing happened because the American people will finally have a Congress that will be more fiscally responsible than when Democrats were in full control of Capitol Hill.
And though I’m happy for this turn of event that favors Republicans, I’m anxious to know how this Congress will deal with the immigration issue. It won’t be long when Congress will debate on whether to help young, illegal immigrants born to parents who are in this country illegally to become legal and, ultimately, gain automatic U.S. citizenship.
I know that there will be a lot of Asian and Hispanic children who will benefit from it. They could be our own relatives and friends. I’m making it clear though that Republicans are not against minorities as some other people think. Republicans are only against waste of taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars and spending of money that we don’t have because it behooves us not to jeopardize the future our children’s children.
It’s not true at all that Republicans are not courting Asian-American and Latino voters. They are making great strides in restoring the Party to its true ideology as envisioned by the greatest president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, and the great civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who were Republicans. And isn’t it refreshing to know that former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, the younger brother of President George W. Bush, is trying to bring GOP leaders and Latino voters together?
I hope and pray that those Congressional GOP lawmakers will choose the right path in handling this issue. They should follow the example of those past Republican leaders about the Party’s enduring legacy of values when it comes to humanity and compassion toward our fellowmen. Any hardened approach they make in dealing with this very sensitive issue could hurt the GOP in its effort to bring those Asian-Americans, Latinos and other minority groups into its fold. That’s the only way for Republicans to improve their chances of capturing the White House and installing their members as the majority in both chambers of Congress come 2012. And any attempts they make to defeat the DREAM Act could doom their aspirations. For the readers’ information, the DREAM Act is an acronym for Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors.
The current Congress is composed of new lawmakers elected on a platform of tougher immigration enforcement. That could also be a recipe for disaster involving the future of the Republican Party. I know that I’m not being an objective writer if I say that it’s wrong to have a tougher immigration laws and that it’s wrong for the United States to secure its borders. But Republican opposition to the DREAM Act is where I draw the line. Any attempts they make to deny citizenship to those law-abiding children of people who are here illegally would surely put to test my loyalty to the Grand Old Party.
While I’m a Fil-Am Republican, I’m not opposed to the Dream Act legislation. What’s wrong if this great nation allows those kids and young adults to gain citizenship? We have seen most of them doing their part as student leaders and brave young soldiers ready to give their lives for a country that they have always called their own. They are law-abiding citizens endowed with God-given talents and potentials to make this country even greater. It is for this country that they are willing to give their all and ready to make the ultimate sacrifice with the full measure of devotion. Doesn’t that mean anything at all to those people who are hell-bent on depriving these young people of the citizenship that they fully deserved?
The real reason why many Americans and Washington legislators are opposed to this is because of ignorance. They seem to have forgotten the fact that the reason why the United States is the greatest and most powerful nation in the world is because of those hard-working and resourceful immigrants who came to this country in search of better life and opportunity. Those uninformed Americans and political leaders are opposed to this legislation because they are being misled by people who are still living in the past——those with misguided beliefs and those who are just plain racists.
The DREAM Act, if it ever passes, would be one of the most noble legislations ever conceived by congressional lawmakers in Washington. And I’m sure that the Founding Fathers and Framers of the U.S. Constitution would have fully endorsed it.
But other Americans don’t see it that way. What they mistakenly see is “free education and free health care” for those young people. And sadly, I don’t think they have even read and fully comprehended the guidelines and provisions of the DREAM Act. Let’s just hope and pray that they are enlightened and will learn to accept the fact that the passage of the DREAM Act would not only make the United States the greatest, but would also make it a kinder and gentler nation, on the face of the earth.