‘Get in the back of the line,’ Malkin tells UT sophomore and DREAM Act hopeful
Conservative blogger and author Michelle Malkin rebuked the proposed federal DREAM Act during a talk at the University of Texas Tuesday evening. The
Jul 31, 20205.5K Shares424.3K Views
Conservative blogger and author Michelle Malkin rebuked the proposed federal DREAM Act during a talk at the University of Texas Tuesday evening.
The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, which suffered a major setbackTuesday, would grant citizenship to young illegal immigrants brought to the country as children and raised in the U.S., if they are in college and/or the military.
During the event coordinated by the UT College Republicans, Malkin blasted the Barack Obama administration, giving the audience a taste of her latest book, Culture of Corruption: Obama and His Team of Tax Cheats, Crooks, and Cronies, before moving into a tirade against the immigration reform measure.
When asked by an undocumented immigrant what solutions she had for him post graduation, the Fox News contributor responded by telling him to “get in the back of the line.”
“I want to give back to this great country by working and paying taxes after I graduate college,” said Him Ranjit, a biomedical engineering sophomore originally from Nepal. “The DREAM Act is my only opportunity to do that. What would you suggest for me?”
Malkin retorted that he had not been denied a college education; immigration enforcement was not after him; and due to an “ill-advised quirk in tax law,” he would be able to pay his taxes. There were much more important things, said Malkin, than having him be comfortable, get legal and give back.
“I would rather expend limited resources deporting [illegal immigrants already identified as such by authorities] and then we’ll get to you. You ought to wait,” said Malkin. “This is the thing with so many activists that are coming out now. There is a narcissism bred by the left on campuses. It’s all about me, me, me. You get your education; I am not bothering you; and guess what? There is no ICE agent chasing you down right now.”
Comparing the DREAM Act to a Trojan horse for massive illegal alien amnesty, Malkin rebuffed claims of racism by pointing to her Filipino heritage. Malkin, who has authored a book defending internment and promoting the case for racial profiling in World War II/Iraq War, has often made remarks that have put her amid major controversies.
She later tried to soften her reproach by adding that, at some point national lawmakers should come up with a systematic and orderly way for the undocumented student to make himself known to authorities, go back to his home country and “get in the back of the line.”
“I think many of the DREAM activists labor under the illusion that it is not a zero-sum game — it is. There are scarce resources and if the Act is passed, you will get in the front of the line of people who are here legally. I don’t think that’s right and I don’t think that’s fair,” said Malkin, eliciting a rupture of applause from the audience.
The lecture comes a day after a group of college students and community activists staged a protestsit-in at the office of U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison in San Antonio. The 16 activists, who were also on a three-week hunger strike in support of the Act, spent the night in jail on trespassing charges.
At the end of the lecture, Malkin reflected on DREAM Act activists’ questions, stating, “You know, based on their debate skills, I am not sure how much they even have to contribute to this country. And you can quote me on that.”
“There is enough multiculturalism on campuses anyway,” she added. “But to inflate it and encourage those grievances?”
Earlier during her lecture Malkin gave an impassioned speech recounting instances of “liberal racism,” concluding people should never dehumanize or marginalize those with whom they disagree.
In 2001, former Texas state Rep. Rick Noriega (D-Houston) authored the Texas precursor to the DREAM Act, which is now being challenged in a state district court in Houston.
*(Image by: Matt Mahurin, *Photo: By Mary Tuma)
Hajra Shannon
Reviewer
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