The so-called “DREAM Act” deserves determined opposition not because it’s confused about the nature of immigration but because it’s confused about the true nature of college.

The bill would confer legal status on hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants who were brought to this country as children, demonstrated “good moral character” during their upbringing, and now committed themselves to “giving something back” by serving their new country. The bill specifies either service in the military, or completion of at least two years of college as the kind of national service it would require. It’s absurd on the face of it, however, to classify university or community college education as a form of national service. College is a privilege, not a right or a sacrificial obligation. Every student in every institution of higher learning is subsidized by someone, usually some level of government, or alumni and corporate donations; tuition alone never covers the full cost of education. In other words, when you go to college the society is helping you, and you’re not necessarily helping the society. It’s absurd, insulting even, to equate going to classes at a university with genuine national service like devoting years to the military.

If thoughtful Republicans managed to strip away the college provisions of the DREAM Act—its name is actually an acronym for “Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors”—they might create a clean “Dream” that deserves passage. If illegal immigrants whose parents brought them here as children actually do serve the U.S. by wearing the uniform of the armed forces, and earn honorable discharges, then it makes sense that at the end of that process they should get legal status that allows them to begin the five year path to citizenship. I supported prior efforts at immigration reform because they combined rewards with meaningful penalties for those who were determined to earn legal status – and those penalties included thousands of dollars (as much as $6,500 per person) of fines, plus demonstrating knowledge of English, before you could even start the long path to citizenship. The Dream Act in its current form contains no penalties: attending college is not a penalty, nor even a contribution to society at large, but rather a contribution to your own advancement that society makes possible through its generosity. In other words, the DREAMers in Congress want to provide rewards with no penalties and no payback from the young immigrant himself. If the House and Senate fail to change the bill, it’s time to wake-up from the “Dream” and face reality: it’s a bad idea to give illegals something significant – like legal status – without requiring meaningful and costly compensation – like military service – in return.