Obama urges Congress to resurrect US Dream Act

United States, 25th January: US President Barack Obama has asked Congress to create a route for enabling undocumented immigrant students gain US citizenship.

The president while delivering his State of the Union speech stated that its quite inappropriate to force promising young immigrants out of the US since they can make significant contributions to the US economy.

US citizenship for undocumented immigrant students—Obama is asking for providing a pathway to help young undocumented immigrants who are pursuing college education and members of US military service gain US citizenship.

In addition, he has also asked US lawmakers to allow increased number of US visas for attracting more highly-skilled immigrants into the nation.

As of now, majority of foreigners coming to the US on high skilled visas for pursuing graduate degrees in the nation have to return to their respective nations after successful completion of their studies here. That’s because many are unable to find opportunities of jobs in the US related to their chosen field of expertise. And this is a big loss for the US.

Each year, around 140,000 US high-skilled visas are granted to foreigners.

Stop expelling young undocumented young immigrants—Obama made no bones about accepting the significance of young undocumented immigrants to the economy. He said these young people are responsible for providing desired staff to new US businesses and labs.

Although, he refrained from naming the law he wanted the Congress to approve, but, he was, undoubtedly, referring to the US Dream Act for offering a legal pathway to young immigrants living in the US, especially those who were brought to the US as children.

To be eligible for gaining US citizenship, all young undocumented immigrants need to have stayed in the US for a minimum of five years, must have attained a high school diploma or an equivalent from the US and must be enrolled in either the military service or a higher education institute in the US.

It may be worth mentioned that Mitt Romney, a former Massachusetts Governor, has already agreed to support the US Dream Act provided it provides US citizenship to those serving in the US military.

The issue is of great importance for Hispanic communities living in US states including New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and Florida.