National columnist Ruben Navarrette thinks some Dreamers, certain undocumented kids granted a two-year-ban from deportation by the Obama administration, are acting like  spoiled brats. They’re  blowing immigration reform possibilities for others by becoming radicalized, he contends. Keep in mind Ruben Navarrette is a Latino, and quite liberal. But certain Dreamers, and not all Dreamers, he points out, are starting to annoy him because, he says, they feel too entitled, just like other American young people.   The gist of his story  is that some Dreamers have become so politically radicalized  they’re making a bad name for other Dreamers and other undocumented immigrants. It’s an uncomfortable argument,  especially for a liberal like Ruben Navarrette.

In response,  Gregory Pratt, also a liberal Latino columnist, writes that Dreamers are not spoiled brats, but extraordinarily humble and hardworking heroes. He writes:

^{“Don’t believe me that the DREAMers are extraordinary people? Go read my story about Angelica Hernandez, an undocumented valedictorian in electrical engineering at Arizona State University. Or check outUndocumented Inc., a cover story I wrote about DREAM Act students who have started their own small businesses.}

^{In that piece I highlighted Lilly Romo, a talented young woman who couldn’t attend nursing school because she lacked a social security number, so she started her own English school; Celso Mireles, an ASU graduate who listened to President Obama deliver the commencement speech at ASU in 2009 then went to work Colorado alfalfa fields days later; or Dulce Matuz, then a real estate agent who is currently President of the Arizona DREAM Act Coalition. She was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by TIME magazine this spring.”}

Ok, so now I’ll weigh in. I think both writers speak the truth.  Navarrette is right — some  Dreamers have been radicalized to the point of harming  their movement’s image, and, honestly, grating on nerves. But  as Pratt points out, the Dreamers he knows (and I know) are  uncomplaining,  strong, smart and kind human beings who have been through more hardships than most of us can imagine.

I believe the  good-kids image prevails and  and makes Dreamers the most attractive and beloved immigrant group in America.

The problem, of course, is that because Dreamers are so beloved — and so young — they have to steer clear of manipulators who want to use them for the political gain of others.