Hats off to the Herald for its excellent series on immigration: Living in the Shadows (Herald, Aug. 19 through Aug. 22). The articles covered the issues at an individual, local, state and national level thoroughly and objectively.
At the conclusion of the series Aug. 22, an Opinion piece presented the way forward in addressing these issues by outlining the essentials for immigration reform legislation. Another article looked at positions of Colorados major candidates for Congress and government.
The Herald has done a stellar job of getting the information out on immigration. Now, after educating ourselves, the next steps are for each of us to: contact our elected officials and political candidates to tell them where we stand on immigration issues and; vote for candidates who will be instrumental in achieving immigration reform that reunites families and provides a way for undocumented immigrants to earn their legal status.
It is unlikely that comprehensive immigration reform will be passed into law this year, given the upcoming elections. However, it is possible that the DREAM Act (The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act) could be approved as soon as next month. Each year, about 65,000 high school graduates, who have grown up in the United States, are denied the opportunity to attend college, pursue productive careers and contribute to this country to their full potential because they are undocumented.
The DREAM Act is a bipartisan piece of legislation through which these youths would be eligible for a six-year-long conditional path to legal status that requires completion of a college degree or two years of military service.
The DREAM Act is a win-win proposal that helps students and the United States make the most of our collective future.
A call to Sens. Michael Bennett and Mark Udall and Rep. John Salazar, encouraging them to support the DREAM Act, will help move us forward toward rational immigration policy.
Maureen Maliszewski, Durango
