On Wednesday, the Brookings Institute hosted a panel on the poor
educational attainment of immigrant children entitled “Immigrant
Children Falling Behind: Implications and Policy Prescriptions.”
Although there was some discussion on the challenges facing
immigrant children, the discussion sadly devolved into a debate
over the merits and disadvantages of the DREAM Act. The event
started off on a good enough note, to be sure. “If immigrant
kids have a problem, then the nation has a problem,” said Ron
Haskins, the co-director of the Brookings Center on Children and
Families. The importance of immigration children to the
country’s well-being is made plain through demographics, argued
several of the panelists. The American population is aging, and
immigration is the only thing that can keep the labor force
growing, they said. “At the beginning of the 20th Century, there
were 10 children for every senior,” said Brookings demographer
Audrey Singer. “By 2030, there will be only 1.2 children for
every senior.” “If it