Citizenship and the Dream Act

            As kids, we go to school and we are told that one day if we work hard enough we will graduate from high school and move on to higher education. Not one of us is told that we will not be able to go to college or a good university because our parents may have brought us to the US illegally. There are over three million students graduating from U.S. high schools every year. These students work hard throughout the years to go to a nice university, or a college. Out of those three million students graduating, and moving on to higher education, there is a group of about sixty-five thousand students that are not able to further their education because they hold the title of illegal immigrants. There are some ways that these students can have the opportunity to go on to higher education. The way these students would be able to go on to higher education would be by filling out the application for the Dream Act. A deontologist is someone who believes that the morality of an action should be based on whether the action itself is right or wrong under a series of rules, rather than based on the consequences of the action itself (dictionary definition). A deontologist would look at this situation in a specific way, have an opinion as to whether these children should be deported or be allowed to stay in the USA and whether there should be an age limit regarding their status.
             The Dream Act is an act that gives students that have been in high school in the United States a minimum of three years and graduate from high school the opportunity to receive financial aid. The students, who are able to receive the Dream Act, have the chance to become a citizen of the United States if they go to school or join the military. These students have to fill out an application and meet certain requirements in order to qualify. Some of the requirements for the Dream Act are that the student must have come to the United States before the age of 16, must have been here for five years in a row prior to the bill, must be between ages 12-35 when applying, and must have good moral character (Dream Act Information).