DREAM not Nightmare

The DREAM Act is an American legislative proposal that guarantees undocumented immigrants the right to pay in-state college tuition if they graduate from a Texas high school after attending three consecutive years.

There are numerous people that are against this and Texas: All or Nothing makes an excellent criticism in "Keep the DREAMers Dreaming" about the way the people who are in opposition to this law think about. Texas: All or Nothing is in favor of the DREAM Act and I support it as well. I believe that there is no need, or actually a good reason for some people in the Texas legislature to want to deprive students from getting higher level education. These people's arguments will eventually cause more harm to the state. This law allows more people to be educated and that is, in no way, something bad for the economy of the state.

There are so many students that depend on this law and without it it would just be impossible for them to get a higher education. I am somehow related to this issue. I am an international student from Mexico City and I live here under a F1 type student visa. However, I did the last three years of high school in The Woodlands, Texas, This allows me to pay resident tuition and without it I would not be able to get my education at a Texas university. As a person who lived in Mexico for 16 years, I am sure to say that most of the undocumented students from my country, would not be able to get a higher education back in their hometowns at all. There is only a few public universities in Mexico and they are either bad or impossible to get in. Most of the people who go to a university in Mexico is because they can afford to go to a private school (which costs about the same as an out-of-state tuition at the University of Texas). 

Texas: All or Nothing could not have said it better: "Why mess with one's education?", this would just create more problems in our society and, in the long run, would hurt the state of Texas' economy.

Keep The DREAMers dreaming

It Is Time to Go Public

Even though I am not a father, I suppose that for a parent, the health of his or her child is the most important thing in the world. I believe that as a father I would always be concerned about whether my child is developing in a healthy environment or not.

In the state of Texas, the law states that parents who decide not to vaccinate their children are required to report that choice to their public school. However, school districts are not required to report information about campus-level immunization rates. That is the reason why I think that the Texas Legislature is doing a pretty good job in considering the House Bill 2474 “Relating to requirements for and the transparency of epidemiological reports and immunization exemption information and reports”.

It is a fact that there is only a really small percentage of parents who prefer not to immunize their children and also there is just a tiny percentage of children suffering from fatal illnesses (being the ones most affected by this matter). So, some people may stay behind the argument that this bill is a "discrimination bill" against those who do not have every vaccine required by the government. I think this argument is nowhere near as powerful as for example: "I have a son who is a cancer patient and he is in a very delicate immuno-compromised situation. That being said, he would be better off if he is in a school with a high immunization rate". 

This bill is not trying to violate the right of the people by making them to vaccinate their children and it should not fall into the discrimination subject whatsoever. This bill is about letting people know where is the best place for their children to go to school in the subject of immunization rates. It is the health of the children we are talking about here and I think it is more important than anything else.