DREAM Act May Reawaken as Congress Pushes Toward Comprehensive Immigration Reform
The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act was originally introduced in the Senate by Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) in October of 2007, but was defeated on a cloture vote of 52 to 44. However, the Act was re-introduced in the Senate by Senator Durbin on March 26, 2009. The Act is co-sponsored by Senator Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) and so far shows promise as part of a new wave of immigration reform.
Currently, immigrant children are only able to obtain legal permanent residency through their parents. The DREAM Act would change this standard by paving a way to U.S. citizenship for undocumented immigrant children, on their own merits. These children would have to meet certain criteria, including living in the U.S. for five years and graduating from a U.S. high school before becoming eligible to apply for temporary citizenship. Upon acceptance, the applicant would obtain temporary citizenship for six years, followed by legal permanent residency after completion of a two-year college degree or two years of military service.
Senator Durbin has been fashioning the DREAM Act for the past eight years, and he does admit that he is “impatient” for the Act to become a reality. Nevertheless, Senator Durbin admits that, while he might have enough votes to pass the DREAM Act by itself, he prefers to make the Act part of a larger, comprehensive immigration reform package – the first of its’ kind under the new Obama administration.
For more information, please visit: TheHill.com. Additional information about Senator Durbin and the DREAM Act may also be found at: http://durbin.senate.gov.
