What is the DREAM Act?
The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act (bill numbers pending) is bipartisan legislation introduced by Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL), Chuck Hagel (R-NE), and Richard Lugar (R-IN) and in the House by Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA), and Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA) that addresses the situation faced by young people who were brought to the U.S. years ago as undocumented immigrant children but who have since grown up here, stayed in school, and kept out of trouble.
Why is the DREAM Act needed?
Each year about 65,000 U.S.-raised students who would qualify for the DREAM Act’s benefits graduate from high school. These include honor roll students, star athletes, talented artists, homecoming queens, and aspiring teachers, doctors, and U.S. soldiers. They are young people who have lived in the U.S. for most of their lives and desire only to call this country their home. Even though they were brought to the U.S. years ago as children, they face unique barriers to higher education, are unable to work legally in the U.S., and often live in constant fear of detection by immigration authorities.
Our immigration law currently has no mechanism to consider the special equities and circumstances of such students. The DREAM Act would eliminate this flaw. It is un-American to indefinitely and irremediably punish them for decisions made by adults many years ago. By enacting the DREAM Act, Congress would legally recognize what is de facto true: these young people belong here.
Congress and the president are now engaged in a contentious and complex struggle to bring our immigration laws up to date. It is not clear what the outcome of these battles will be or how long they will last. What is clear is that the young people at issue should not be asked to wait until the conclusion of the immigration wars. Rather, they should be taken off of the field of battle.
DREAM Act students should be allowed to get on with their lives. If Congress fails to act this year, another entire class of outstanding, law-abiding high school students will graduate without being able to plan for the future, and some will be removed from their homes to countries they barely know. This tragedy will cause America to lose a vital asset: an educated class of promising immigrant students who have demonstrated a commitment to hard work and a strong desire to be contributing members of our society.
■ Status of the DREAM Act
Support for the DREAM Act has grown each year since it was first introduced in 2001 during the 107th Congress. By the end of 2002, it had attracted 18 Senate cosponsors. In the 2003–04 108th Congress, the DREAM Act passed the Senate Judiciary Committee by a 16-3 vote, garnered 48 cosponsors, and was the only major immigration reform proposal reported to the Senate floor. Finally, in 2006 it was again approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee, this time by a voice vote, and passed the whole Senate as part of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006 (S. 2611) in May 2006. The House version of the DREAM Act was initially introduced with only 3 cosponsors in 2001. It had 63 Republican cosponsors by the end of 2002, and 152 Republicans and Democrats had signed on by the adjournment of the 108th Congress — more than one-third of all members. Last year, it would very likely have passed the House if brought up for a vote, but the Congressional leadership could not be persuaded to bring it up.
