ALEXANDRIA, VA – Today, the United States Senate voted on a procedural motion to consider the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act (S. 2205), which has been championed by Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL), Chuck Hagel (R-NE), and Richard Lugar (R-IN). The measure failed by a vote of 52-44.
The Act would allow children brought to the United States as minors to earn a green card six years after graduating from high school if during that time they continue on to college or serve in the military. The DREAM Act is narrowly tailored legislation, only applying to individuals brought to the U.S. at least 5 years ago as children, who have grown up here (but are still under 30 years old), and who have remained in school and out of trouble.
“As a children’s organization with no immigration reform agenda, we support this legislation because it extends meaningful life opportunities to innocent children living in the United States who have found themselves held captive by our country’s broken immigration system. It provides important motivation for this population to stay in school and bettter support this country,” said Bruce Lesley, President of First Focus, a bipartisan children’s advocacy organization.
“A majority of the children affected by this legislation have known nothing but the American language and the American culture for their entire lives. Removing a child from his or her home at the crossroads of their young lives will have nothing but negative effects on the rest of their adult lives. It is disappointing to watch the U.S. Congress hold back a bill time and again that would give children brought to the US by their parents an opportunity to call someplace ‘home.’ However, this vote demonstrated that a strong majority of the Senate supports this important legislation and that we, as a nation, must continue to find a way to resolve this issue for these children.”
Unless they are born in the United States, children whose parents are undocumented immigrants have no mechanism to obtain legal residency. These young people were brought to the United States by their parents, and many have spent the majority of their lives living as Americans. They are unable to pursue higher education because of the enormous barriers created by their lack of legal status. The DREAM Act would provide an avenue for these young people to acquire legal status and pursue a college degree. Encouraging and allowing these motivated students with clean criminal records to enhance their education will have enormous benefits for these students and our nation overall.