quote:
Originally posted by marmaduk:
CIR is probably dead for the year, but the Dream Act might pass since its attached to a different bill.
Like I was saying . . .
Sept. 26, 2007, 8:35AM
Hope fades for passage of bill to aid young illegal immigrants
By MICHELLE MITTELSTADT
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON — The hope for immediate Senate action on the DREAM Act, which would grant legal status to hundreds of thousands of young illegal immigrants, faded Tuesday as the measure's chief Senate sponsor acknowledged he was having difficulty surmounting Republican opposition.
Sen. **** Durbin, D-Ill., has been seeking to attach the DREAM Act to the defense authorization bill pending in the Senate. But in an interview Tuesday, he said the DREAM Act isn't among the items on the table as Republican and Democratic leaders discuss ways to quickly wrap up debate on the defense bill.
"We haven't given up completely, but the options on this bill are limited,'' Durbin said.
"I'm disappointed for thousands of young people whose lives are just in limbo," he added. "They want to move on with their lives and do good things, and unfortunately we haven't been able to pass the laws to make that happen."
Immigrant-rights advocates were dismayed by the setback but vowed to find other means to pass the legislation, which they have sought since 2001.
"There is no question that this issue doesn't stop here," said Cecilia Muñoz, senior vice president of the National Council of La Raza. "The longer we wait, the more talented young people we close the door of opportunity to."
The DREAM Act would allow illegal immigrants who entered the U.S. before the age of 16, and have lived here at least five years, to receive conditional legal status if they have graduated from high school and have a clean record. After six years, they could become permanent legal residents if they serve in the U.S. military for at least two years or complete at least two years of college. As with most green card holders, they could apply for citizenship after five years.
The non-partisan Migration Policy Institute estimates slightly more than 1 million high school graduates and children still in school could gain legal status under the legislation.
The bill is officially the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act.
With conservatives being barraged with calls, faxes and e-mails from anti-illegal immigration groups that view the DREAM Act as a form of amnesty, some Republicans who supported the measure in the past have been reluctant to do so now. Durbin needs 60 votes to surmount an expected filibuster.
"We will try to block it," said Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss.
Some Senate Republicans, including Texans Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn, object to the immigration measure being brought up on a defense bill.
"Putting extraneous things on this bill isn't helpful," Hutchison said.
Other Republicans aren't ready to revisit an immigration debate that imploded in June when the Senate scuttled a sweeping overhaul endorsed by the White House that would have given most illegal immigrants a chance for legal status.
"People, I think, want to let the immigration thing cool off a bit before we jump back in," said Sen. Jeff Sessions, an Alabama Republican who helped derail the comprehensive immigration bill.
Josh Bernstein, federal policy director for the National Immigration Law Center, predicted DREAM Act supporters eventually will prevail.
"The politics is right and the commitment is there," Bernstein said. "We're not giving up."
God Bless America and everyone else!
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