In today's Chicago Tribune, Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) writes an op-ed entitled: "Bipartisan support for Dream Act needed," see http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/ct-oped-0409-immigration-20100409,0,3614803.story. He reports that "he believe[s] Congress can pass immigration reform this year." This view is consistent with what I have heard here in Indiana from Senator Lugar's staff about the DREAM Act potentially coming up for a vote this August.
In his op-ed, Senator Durbin highlights his and Senator Dick Lugar's (R-IN) bipartisan sponsorship of the DREAM Act. He also states that "[t]he Dream Act, [is] a bipartisan bill to help students brought to the U.S. illegally at a young age. These students have lived in this country for most of their lives and it's the only home they know. Because they are undocumented, their options are limited and they could be deported at any time. The bill would permit these students to become permanent residents if they came here as children (younger than 16), have been here for five years, have good moral character and attend college or enlist in the military for at least two years.The bill isn't amnesty. It's narrowly tailored to assist a select group of young people in earning legal status. Most of these young people came here with their parents when they were too little to understand the consequences. This bill would allow a generation of immigrant students with great potential to contribute more fully to our society."
Senator Durbin further reminds us that "[w]e've come close to making the Dream Act law. Last Congress, our bill received 52 votes in the Senate, a majority vote — including 11 Republicans — but we needed 60 under Senate rules." Therefore, this is a call to our readers to contact their Senators to voice their support the DREAM Act!
For an excellent website with student experiences in support of the DREAM Act, see http://www.dreamactivist.org/.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
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