Who wants to deport “dreamers”? Not many people, it turns out. Even veteran immigration restrictionists seem willing to legalize this subset of undocumented immigrants if it is part of a package deal. That’s true even though a lot of what’s said about the dreamers is PR-style hooey.
For example, it’s often said — indeed, former president Barack Obama just recently said — that the approximately 690,000 dreamers were “brought to this country by their parents.” Well, many were. But that’s not required to qualify as a protected dreamer under the various plans, including Obama’s. You just have to have entered the country illegally before age 16. You could have decided to sneak in against your parents’ wishes. You’re still a dreamer!
Likewise, we’re told dreamers are college-bound high school grads or military personnel. That’s an exaggeration. All that’s actually required is that the dreamer enroll in a high school course or an “alternative,” including online courses and English-as-a-second-language classes. Under Obama’s now-suspended program, you didn’t even have to stay enrolled.
