The chances of the DREAM Act passing take a major hit

The hopes of getting the DREAM Act, an important part of comprehensive immigration reform, passed took a hit today when the Senate was unable to move forward on voting on the larger Defense Authorization Bill to which the DREAM Act was attached.  While all hope is not lost for the passage of this bill, today’s vote likely means that it will be at least several more months before the bill will be brought back up in the Senate. 

The Immigration Policy Center of the American Immigration Council had this to say in a press release:

DREAM Delayed in the Senate

September, 21, 2010

Washington D.C. - Today, the Senate voted 56 to 43 against proceeding to the Defense Authorization Act. This procedural vote, which basically followed party lines, ends consideration of critical social issues that affect the military and were to be offered as amendments to the bill. Among the amendments not considered is the DREAM Act, an immigration bill that would provide legal status to young people who graduate from high school and pursue college or military service.

 

The following is a statement from Mary Giovagnoli, Director of the Immigration Policy Center:

 

“The political gridlock that has immobilized the Senate has resulted once again in a lost opportunity for the American people. By refusing to allow the Defense Authorization Act to proceed, America will not see, at this time, an up or down vote on the DREAM Act, which would have been a first legislative step in resolving our immigration crisis. The Senators who voted “no” today are ignoring unequivocal evidence that the DREAM Act is good for military readiness, the American workforce and the U.S. economy.
 
The energy and enthusiasm of thousands of young people who have poured themselves into promoting the DREAM Act has not been wasted, however. Because of their efforts, more people today understand the importance of DREAM to our economy, our military, and the future of our country than ever before.”

 

A Boost for the Dream Act’s Chances of Passage

Today we found out that the Dream Act (discussed here on this blog) will be attached to the larger Defense Authorization Bill, greatly increasing the chances of its passage.  Here’s a press release from the American Immigration Council explaining more about today’s developments (please go to their website for more info):

DREAM Act Coming to the Senate Floor

Senator Reid to Attach Act to Defense Authorization Bill
 

September 15, 2010

 

Washington, D.C. - Yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced that he would attach the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act to the Department of Defense authorization bill expected to come before the Senate as early as next week. The vote will be an important test of whether Congress can transcend partisan politics and work together on crafting solutions to the broken immigration system that both Democrats and Republicans acknowledge is in desperate need of reform. That the proposal will be considered as an amendment to the Defense Authorization bill is appropriate, given the Department of Defense’s support for DREAM Act as a way to improve military readiness.  

First introduced in 2001, the DREAM Act would address the plight of young immigrants who have been raised in the U.S. and managed to succeed despite the challenges of being brought to the U.S. without proper documentation. The proposal would offer a path to legal status to those who have graduated from high-school, have stayed out of trouble and plan to attend college or serve in the U.S. military for at least two years.
 
Each year, approximately 65,000 undocumented students graduate from high school, many at the top of their classes, but cannot go to college, join the military, work, or otherwise pursue their dreams. They belong to the 1.5 generation – any (first generation) immigrants brought to the United States at a young age who were largely raised in this country and therefore share much in common with second generation Americans. These students are culturally American, growing up here and often having little attachment to their country of birth. They tend to be bicultural and fluent in English.

Research has shown that providing a legal status for young people who have a proven record of success in the United States would be a boon to the economy and the U.S. workforce.  University presidents and educational associations, as well as military recruiters, business and religious leaders have added their voice to those calling for passage of the bill. Foreign-born students represent a significant and growing percentage of the current student population. Unfortunately, immigration status and the associated barriers to higher education contribute to a higher-than-average high dropout rate, which costs taxpayers and the economy billions of dollars each year. 

 The DREAM Act would eliminate these barriers for many students, and the DREAM Act’s high school graduation requirement would provide a powerful incentive for students who might otherwise drop out to stay in school and graduate. This will help boost the number of high skilled American-raised workers.  As they take their place in the workplace as hard working, taxpaying Americans, they will contribute a lifetime of revenues at the local, state and federal level.
 
Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Military Personnel Policy, Bill Carr, supports the DREAM Act and stated that the law would be “good for readiness” and would help to recruit “cream of the crop” students. The DREAM Act is part of the Department of Defense’s 2010-2012 Strategic Plan to assist the military in it’s recruiting efforts.

Will Texas enact an immigration law like Arizona?

Recently, lawmakers in Texas began discussions on what could be a hotly-contested issue in coming months–whether to enact an immigration bill similar to the one that Arizon recently enacted.  Though it appears unlikely that Texas would go as far as Arizona did (one of the major reasons being the budget shortfall this year), it is very likely that some sort of bill will be passed to try to curb illegal immigration.  For more information, read this article.

Dream Act

For many young people who were brought here by their parents as illegal immigrants at a young age, it can be extremely surprising to learn that they may be subject to deportation from the United States–even though they have lived here almost their entire lives.  This article describes the plight of those “dream act” kids, so named after the proposed legislation that would finally give them a way to gain their legal permanent resident status if they were brought as children and stay in the U.S. to attend college or join the military. 

This issue highlights some of the key problems with our immigration system today.  No matter what political party you may be affiliated with, it is easy to see that our current immigration system is broken in many ways, and that there needs to be some type of comprehensive reform.  Let’s hope that it comes sooner rather than later…

UPDATE: Just today the Immigration Policy Center submitted an extremely comprehensive fact sheet about the DREAM Act and its impact on society.  You can see it here.

Have a question about Immigration Law?

If you have a question about Immigration Law, simply send an email to davidcooklaw@gmail.com with the subject line of “Blog Question.”  Our resident Immigration Lawyer, David Cook, will try to answer as many of your questions as possible on the blog, so send in your questions.

Immigration Reform–what’s in it for me?

While no one is sure what will ultimately happen with Immigration Reform in Congress, one thing is for certain–big changes are likely on the horizon.  Most of these changes will affect those applying for family-based immigration, those without any immigration status (i.e. “illegal aliens”) and border security.  The big issue that still must be decided is whether some form of amnesty (like we had in the 1980s) will be offered again to huge number of illegal immigrants currently living in the United States.  

While no one knows what will happen with the current Immigration Bill proposed in Congress, I thought this summary of the CURRENT state of the bill would be helpful for our readers.  Please understand that this is just the first version of the bill–it is likely to be changed quite a bit before it ever gets passed.  But this summary will at least provide our readers with an idea of what some of the future changes might look like.

Arizona’s New Immigration Law

Because I have received so many questions about Arizona’s new immigration law, I wanted to post a link to a summary that may be helpful to immigrants and U.S. citizens alike.  This summary should help explain more about the law, and will give the author’s opinions about the new law [Note: The opinions of the author of this summary do not necessarily reflect my own opinions as an immigration lawyer]

Here’s the link:

http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/sites/default/files/docs/SB1070_Guide_060210.pdf

Uncertainty

With the immigration system in a state of upheaval, it is hard for immigrants to know how to plan for themselves and their families.  This goal of this blog is to help readers better understand the current United States immigration system and keep up to date on new changes in the law.