[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 138 (Tuesday, September 18, 2007)]
[House]
[Page H10495]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                          DREAM ACT--BAD DREAM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, there are some in Congress who have gone to 
sleep and blissfully are dreaming of ways to get more illegals benefits 
that American taxpayers are going to have to pay for.
  It's called the DREAM Act, or specifically the Development, Relief, 
and Education for Alien Minors Act. You notice that word ``alien.'' It 
only applies to aliens illegally in the United States, not to American 
citizens and not to foreign nationals who are here legally. It's a bill 
to give preference to illegals in our public universities.
  Here's how it works under normal circumstances: Most States require 
that if you are not a resident of their State, you pay out-of-State 
tuition to go to their public universities. For example, if you are 
from New Jersey or from India and you go to school at Texas University, 
you pay out-of-State tuition because you are not from Texas. Most 
public universities have this rule.
  The DREAM Act, however, will do something differently. It applies 
only to folks who are illegally in the country and who can attest that 
they came before they were the age of 16. If so, this person will be 
able to get a green card, later to get a permanent residence card, and 
then after that get a green card for the parents of this illegal who 
brought this child into the United States illegally in the first place.
  It gives priorities to illegals over American citizens and foreign 
nationals who are legally in the country. It discriminates against 
Americans. It discriminates against foreign students because it only 
applies to illegals who are here so that they can go to our public 
universities and pay in-State tuition because if you are from some 
other State or some foreign nation and legally in the country, you pay 
out-of-State tuition, which, of course, is more.
  It seems to me this violates the equal protection clause of the 14th 
amendment. It treats illegals who are violating the law by being here 
in the United States already better than Americans.
  Mr. Speaker, as college costs continue to soar, most Americans who 
have kids that go to college have to foot that bill. I just had my four 
children finish college not too long ago and just paid off the last 
college loan. I have one daughter who is still paying on her college 
loan after she received her doctorate degree.
  There are many Americans who will not be able to go to college 
because it now costs too much for them to go. But the dreamers want it 
to cost even more because they want us to subsidize illegals so they 
can go to school with in-State tuition.
  This silly law goes further. It repeals a law that this body signed 
into law in 1996. In 1996, the legislation was enacted by Congress, 
started in this House, stating that States cannot give preference to 
illegals and let them pay in-State tuition unless those same States 
treat foreign nationals who are legally in the country and out-of-State 
students, students from other States, the same way. The law applied 
saying you have to treat everybody equally and you have to treat 
Americans the same as illegals if you let them go to your university 
with in-State tuition.
  In spite of this 1996 law, there are 10 States who defy this law and 
have ignored the law and have allowed in-State tuition for illegals. 
Those 10 States: California; unfortunately, my home State of Texas; 
Illinois; Oklahoma; Utah; Washington; New Mexico; Kansas; Nebraska; and 
New York. You see, these 10 States violate Federal law because they 
already allow in-State tuition for illegals that are in their State.
  This is called ``nullification.'' That's a legal term, Mr. Speaker, 
which means that a State ignores or passes legislation contrary to 
Federal law. Nullification is not a new concept. It started over 150 
years ago when several southern States decided they could nullify 
Federal laws that they didn't like.

                              {time}  1645

  And so one reason for the Great War between the States was because of 
the nullification concept where States voted laws that were contrary to 
Federal law.
  So this DREAM Act will legalize the conduct of these 10 States. It 
will then give amnesty and in-state tuition to illegals in this country 
at the detriment of American students and legal foreign students. Mr. 
Speaker, this ought not to be. Americans should not have to pay the 
cost for the education of illegals in this country. And illegals that 
come to this country and get in our universities should not get to pay 
less than Americans who live in other States.
  And that's just the way it is.

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