I am a former Army officer with a wish that Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins can deliver by Christmas: pass the DREAM Act. The bill provides undocumented youths, who were brought here as children, a path to citizenship if they graduate from high school and then serve in the military for at least two years or earn a college degree.

That is a win/win piece of legislation that 70 percent of Americans support. The legislation costs nothing; there are no grants or funding with it. In fact, it will generate income taxes from newly documented workers.

Our country has always had soldiers and sailors who are not U.S. citizens.

During the Vietnam War, alien residents were drafted into the armed forces. I served with soldiers who wore the U.S. Army patch over their hearts proudly, though they were born outside the U.S. and had not become citizens. And, most notably, one of the first American servicemen killed in the war with Iraq came to the U.S. illegally.

Marine Lance Cpl. Jose Gutierrez was once an orphan on the streets of Guatemala City. At 14, he sneaked into the U.S. In 2003, he died honorably serving in the U.S. armed forces, fighting for the American dream.

The dream is that if we are willing to do the work, we should all have the opportunity to succeed, regardless of the circumstances of our birth.

The DREAM Act must pass for the American dream to be true.

Bettyann Sheats, Auburn