Pathway To Leadership

Senator Dick Durbin, Democrat from Illinois, has re-introduced the DREAM Act in the U.S. Senate. The DREAM Act will give undocumented people, who immigrated to the U.S. as a child by their parents, legal status. These were children who did not make a decision to come to the U.S. but are here because of decisions that their parents made for them. These children have been educated in our public schools and depending on the state they reside in, can attend college, but after graduation they will not be able to be legally hired anywhere.

The Republican Senator from Texas, John Cornyn often cites his support for a version of the DREAM Act, but has only voted for it once in 2003. Recently, he was giving a speech at the NALEO convention in San Antonio and was interrupted for his record on the DREAM Act. With the re-introduction of the bill and the treatment he received from NALEO, it looks like John Cornyn has a chance to change minds.

Senator Cornyn has a chance to be included in the next version of Profiles in Courage. I have come up with plan for Senator Cornyn to earn a "pathway to leadership."

1. Sign up to be a sponsor of the bill
2. Work to change what he thinks is wrong with the bill
3. Actively lobby other Republican Senators to join him
4. Help recruit House Republicans and public support for the bill
5. Most importantly, vote for the DREAM Act

The Senator has a chance to make his actions match his rhetoric. We will have to wait and see if he has the courage to do it. I hope he doesn't choose the Senator McCain route and sell out.

~Andres