25/1/2018 It’s time for the Senate to put Americans and their dreams first | Fox News

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POLITICS · 31 mins ago

It’s time for the Senate to put Americans and their

dreams rst
OPINION By Kay Coles James | Fox News

00:00 / 02:56

Senate votes to fund gov't for 3 weeks, DACA talks proceed

Senate Majority Leader McConnell jabbed at Schumer for pursuing a strategy of shutting down the government for an unrelated issue; Mike
Emanuel explains on 'Special Report.'

The just-paused Schumer Shutdown of the federal government brought to mind one of the most
surprising headlines I’ve ever read. Last September, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.,
joined with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to pen a CNN.com op-ed headlined
“Dreamers Are as American as Apple Pie.”

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If that pie came into the country illegally, I guess they’d be right. But I don’t think that was their point.
Instead, Schumer and Pelosi were trying to convince readers that the term “American” no longer
means being a legal U.S. citizen.

Doubtless, many readers chuckled at the headline and moved on. But given the federal government
shutdown that just transpired because of this issue, the joke’s no longer funny.

The shutdown is over – for now. In exchange for Schumer’s support, the Senate will vote on whether
to let as many as 800,000 illegal immigrants stay in the U.S. And if that vote doesn’t go his way,
there’s no guarantee Schumer may not again prevent the federal government from being funded.

Meanwhile, members of our military are on the front lines defending our liberty. Cities and towns all
across America are challenged by stretched resources. Families are working hard to put the Obama
recession behind them. And parents are praying a wall will soon be built to keep their kids safe from
criminals coming across our border.

America has always had a great tradition of opening its arms to

others in need. But that tradition never meant opening its
borders.

But instead of helping them, Schumer and his liberal colleagues seem to prefer asking Americans to
defer their dreams for those of illegals.

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25/1/2018 It’s time for the Senate to put Americans and their dreams first | Fox News

Right now, there’s a teenage girl in Appalachia who dreams of a great education but sits in a school
that isn’t delivering. A factory worker who dreams of regaining work that went overseas earlier this
decade. An urban mom who dreams of health care for her son but has to wait in an overcrowded
emergency room.

These are dreamers all. And they’re Americans.

Our leaders used to know the difference. Take former Rep. Barbara Jordan, D-Texas, for example.
One of America’s great civil rights leaders, Jordan was the rst African-American elected to the
Texas Senate since Reconstruction. She was also the rst Southern black woman elected to the
U.S. House of Representatives, and an eminently worthy recipient of the Presidential Medal of
Freedom.

Jordan also served as chairwoman of the U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform, where she said
some things that Schumer would bene t from considering. “For our immigration policy to make
sense,” she said, “it is necessary to make distinctions between those who obey the law, and those
who violate it.” She also said: “One thing is very clear: Illegal immigrants are not entitled to bene ts.”

Today, however, Jordan’s words seem to be forgotten by liberals who oppose deportation of illegal
aliens, support government-paid lawyers for illegals in immigration courts, and call for more money
to be spent on services for illegal immigrants.

All of these costs are being borne by Americans. And those extra costs make it harder for
Americans to realize their own dreams.

Such is the impact when politics is prioritized over the America people. Just in my own community,
African-Americans who are working to get back on their feet are nding it harder than ever, due to
the huge number of illegal immigrants who are competing for some of the same jobs.

The impact is particularly harmful to young Americans who depend on low-skilled work to earn a
living and get their start up the economic ladder. Similarly, many of those who have found work are
discovering they’re being paid less because of the competition they now face from illegal immigrant
laborers.

America has always had a great tradition of opening its arms to others in need. But that tradition
never meant opening its borders. Instead, America’s decisions about who to let in historically
revolved around what was in the nation’s best interests. And it is clear that America’s interests have
not been served by amnesty and open borders.

Americans are best served when our leaders uphold the rule of law, honor the process of legal
immigration, protect our borders, and base all policy decisions on the impact they will have on
America’s citizens and our future.

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25/1/2018 It’s time for the Senate to put Americans and their dreams first | Fox News

So when the Senate returns to this issue in the coming days, I hope senators will keep in mind one
thing: our nation has always been happy to help – and has always put Americans and their dreams
rst.

Kay Coles James is the president of The Heritage Foundation.

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