While the Democratic party points fingers at Republicans for the DREAM Act failing to pass in Congress, the GOP is presenting alternatives to DREAM that some call better than nothing and others call a path to a permanent underclass. No, I’m not talking about Florida Senator Marco Rubio’s version of the DREAM Act, which he has talked much about while creating false hype about him as a possible running mate for GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney. That proposal has proven to be like Democratic promises for immigration reform – all talk and no action. I’m talking about what another Florida Republican, Congressman David Rivera, actually introduced last week.

Rivera introduced a bill focusing on education as a follow up to the Adjusted Residency Status (ARMS) Act which was introduced in January of this year. The ARMS Act would provide a path to permanent residency to undocumented youth who serve in the military after a conditional status period. The newly introduced Studying Towards Adjusted Residency Status (STARS) Act, would provide a path to permanent residency to graduates of a four-year college or university after a conditional status period like ARMS. In many ways STARS answers critics of ARMS who wanted an alternative to boosting military enrollment as a path to legalization. STARS and ARMS also run counter to what Sen. Rubio’s alleged plan contains or rather doesn’t. Rubio’s plan allegedly does not/will not contain a path to residency.

One of the criticisms of the STARS Act is that it leaves out a huge number of students by only offering a path to residency for those students who graduate from a four year college.

Read the full story at Vivir Latino