DREAM Act

The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act (also called "The DREAM Act") is a highly contentious, bi-partisan bill that has been introduced several times in the United States Congress that would provide a path to citizenship for immigrant students and those wishing to join the United States military. The bill, in all its incarnations, has never been brought to a floor vote as a stand alone bill in either the United States House or the United States Senate, despite passing the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary with a vote of 16-3and at one point having co-sponsors in the senate. The text of the bill has also been included in various other immigration-related bills, including the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006, which was approved by the Senate and the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007, which failed in a 46-53 cloture vote in the Senate.

Background

Currently, a child can only obtain their immigration status though their parents, there does not exist an independent method. As a result, a child often has no control over his or her situation. They often had no say in coming to the US (legally or illegally) and often are punished for something they had no say over. Many remain without a permanent status despite having naturalized citizen or legal permanent resident parents. Some are abandoned in the US with nowhere to turn to, they cannot return to a country where they do not know anyone, do not speak the language, or even remember. Many are now married to American citizens with children but because of a decision some else made when the individual was a child they may not obtain a permanent residency status and at any point could be separated from their family and deported. The irony is, if the child returns to their birth country immigration services will deny them any legal visas to come back to the US if they attempt to come back legally. They are often subject to decade long bans and student, tourist, or work visas are rarely given to people with such strong connections to the US.

Currently, the United States Military faces an enlistment crisis and an immigrant that is not a permanent resident (green card) is not allowed to enlist. Several senior officials at the Department of Defense have spoken in favor of promising legal status to members of the military as a means of boosting recruitment. Many have suggested an alternative path as well to stay consistent with the voluntary nature of the military. A college degree is often suggested as an alternative mainly because degree holders tend to contribute more in taxes than they use up in services and are less likely to end up using public services. By a supreme court ruling the United States is forced to provide a K-12 education for immigrant children. Many point to the absurdity of the law that right before the immigrant has the opportunity to repay society for this education (via military service or through tax revenue collected from them), the law stops them.

The DREAM Act seeks to address all of these issues.

Description of the Bill

This bi-partisan bill called The DREAM Act is a one time solution intended to provide a path to a permanent legal status for persons brought to the United States by their parents or guardians as children. This includes individuals with a current legal immigration status, individuals whose parents attempted to immigrate legally but were then denied legality after several years in application, and those initially brought here illegally at a young age.

To qualify, the immigrant student or soldier would have to meet certain requirements such as:

• Proof of having arrived in the United States at age 15 or younger.
• Proof of residence in the United States for a least five (5) consecutive years since their date of arrival.
• Must be between the ages of 12 and 30 at time of bill enactment.
• Having graduated from an American High School, or obtained a GED.
• "Good moral character," essentially defined as the absence of a significant criminal record (or any drug charges whatsoever).
• See below for more details.

During the six years of conditional status, the eligible immigrant would be required to either (1) graduate from a two-year community college, (2) complete at least two years towards a 4-year degree, or (3) serve two years in the U.S. military. After the six year period, an immigrant who meets at least one of these three conditions would be eligible to apply for legal permanent resident (green card) status. During their temporary time, immigrants would not be eligible for federal higher education grants such as Pell grants, though they would be able to apply for student loans and work study.

If the immigrant does not meet the educational or military service requirement within the six year time period, her or his temporary residence would be revoked and he or she would be subject to deportation. During the six years, the immigrant must not commit any crimes other than those considered non-drug related misdemeanors, regardless of whether or not they have already been approved for permanent status at the end of their six years. Being convicted of a major crime, or drug-related infraction would automatically remove the six year temporary residence status and he or she would be subject to deportation.

If the immigrant meets all of the conditions at the end of the 6-year conditional period, he or she would be granted a permanent green card with the same rights as a permanent resident alien, including the right to apply for U.S. citizenship.

Previous versions of the DREAM Act would restore a state's right in determining eligibility for in-state tuition. This provision was often misrepresented by critics of the measure as "free college" or as falsely claiming to "mandate all states to offer in-state tuition" to these immigrants. As a result it has been dropped and in the 2 most recent versions of the DREAM Act there was no language pertaining to in-state tuition.

An estimated 65,000 immigrant students who meet these requirements graduate from high school each year.

Bill history

A very similar version of the bill, though never called the "DREAM Act", was introduced during the 107th Congress in 2001, as H.R.1918 and S.1291 in the House and Senate respectively. It has been introduced in both the Senate (as the "DREAM Act") and the House (as the "American Dream Act") at various times. In the Senate: S.1545 (108th Congress), S.2075 (109th Congress) and S.774 (110th Congress). In the House: H.R.1684 (108th Congress), H.R.5131 (109th Congress) and H.R.1275 (110th Congress).

The text of the bill has also been placed in various other immigration-related bills (none yet successful), including the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006 (S. 2611) and the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 (S. 1348).

In September 2007 it was introduced as a possible amendment to a Department of Defense authorization bill(S. 2919). The most recent bill number is S.2205.

Current Status

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Richard Durbin, have expressed a desire for Congress to pass the DREAM Act in 2007. Sen. Durbin had announced plans to attach a version of the DREAM Act to the 2008 defense appropriations bill. This version no longer contained language pertaining to in-state tuition and set an age limit of 30. According to the Army Times, several senior officials at the Department of Defense have spoken in favor of the DREAM Act, and specifically the bill's promise of legal status to members of the military as a means of boosting recruitment. The amendment was not brought up for a vote. However, Reid promised to bring the measure to a senate vote by November 16. On October 18, 2007 Richard Durbin introduced a new version of the DREAM Act similar to the one proposed as an amendment to the DOD bill with an age limit of 30 and no in-state tuition language. Cosponsored by Sen. Chuck Hagel and Sen. Richard Lugar, S.2205 is a stand alone bill.

On October 24, 2007, The DREAM Act failed in the Senate to receive the 60 votes required to break a filibuster attempt. The vote count was 52-44 [1].

External links

• Official Information from Library of Congress
• pfaw.org - Article in support of bill
• National Immigration Law Center page on the bill
• The DREAM Act Portal - (A pro-Dream act site)
• CoSAonline.org - Another pro-Dream Act site
• - Economic Benefits of the DREAM Act