First of all, the announcement by President Obama on July 15, 2012 did not create the Dream Act envisioned by Congress. In it's simplest form, the new executive directive is not the Dream Act at all, as it does not have a path to citizenship. In order to have such a path to citizenship, Congress must pass a new law. But for more than 10 years many members of Congress have be fighting to pass the Dream Act, to no avail.
Ten years ago, a majority of the children where still young. But now, most have grown into you adulthood. They appear outwardly like any other American. They speak English without an accent. They know American history and politics. They watch the same TV programs and listen to the same music as all Americans. Many have graduated college and are at the top of their class. But beneath it all they have not been accepted into this community and do not have the rights that children born in this country have.
Now as they have matured, many find themselves in a surreal situation. While their American counterparts, continue on to higher education and begin their careers, these children cannot follow the same path, their education is stalled because they either cannot be admitted to many schools or if they are accepted, they are unable to obtain student loans. Those that want to work, cannot do so because they do not have legal work permission. And if those fact were not cruel enough, they cannot even drive a car; a license is beyond their reach.
When President obama took office, he promised to pass comprehensive immigration reform as well as the Dream Act. But he failed to keep his words. Instead he shored up the borders and deported more undocumented immigrants than any previous president. And now, perhaps because of the upcoming election, the President has used his Executive Power, not to pass a law but to change some regulation and direct the U.S. immigration and Naturalization Service to take a kinder view at the undocumented community. He has stopped most ICE actives involving long term resident of the U.S and , under his new so called "Dream ACt", which is actually a different use of prosecutorial discrete coupled with a work permit, he has found a way to give these children a breather. To give them a chance to get their life in order, while at the same time pushing forward for the ultimate goal of all concerned "Comprehensive Immigration Reform."
Perhaps the President's decision to effectuate a version of the Dream Act was solely based on being reelected, but maybe not. Many argues that the President believes in what he preaches, that most every person undocumented in this country must come out of the shadows and become a contributor to the American way of life.
You can follow this link for more information on Obama's Dream Act:
iDreamAct.com