Democrats have introduced 20 different versions of a DREAM Act that would make lawful status available to undocumented immigrants who were brought here by their parents when they were young children. None of their DREAM Acts got the Republican support needed to make it through the legislative process.

Was the problem that Republicans didn’t want to help DREAMers? I don’t think so.

Democrats could have passed a DREAM Act without a single Republican vote during Barack Obama’s first term in office, and they didn’t do it. From January 2009 to January 2011, they held a large majority in the House, and until Scott Brown’s special election in 2010, they had enough votes in the Senate to stop a GOP filibuster. Even then, they only needed one Republican vote to stop a filibuster.

They have a new opportunity now. Donald Trump wants to help the DREAMers, and he will be sworn in as our president later this month.

Trump offered a legalization program for 1.8 million DREAMers during his first presidency. And in a recent "Meet the Press” interview, he said he is open to working with Democrats on legislation that would permit DREAMers to remain in the United States.

FALSE HOPE ACTS

The DREAM Acts the Democrats have been introducing have had little, if any, chance of being passed. They go too far and don’t include meaningful border security measures. Republicans historically have opposed legalization bills that don’t include effective border security provisions.

The DREAM Act of 2021 is a good example. It would provide legalization for undocumented immigrants who have been physically present in the United States since Jan. 1, 2021; were under the age of 19 when they entered the United States; and have continuously resided in the United States since their entry. This would make lawful status available to approximately 2.7 million undocumented immigrants, not counting the family members they would sponsor.

However, it would have been more appealing if it had limited legalization to DREAMers who were brought here when they were young children. Moreover, it shouldn’t have provided legalization for immigrants in other programs that were just intended to provide temporary status; it would make lawful status available to 393,000 Temporary Protected Status or Deferred Enforced Departure participants, and 190,000 “Legal Dreamers” (migrants brought here legally as children who are aging out of their lawful status).

Furthermore, it doesn’t offer meaningful border security measures.

If I were writing a DREAM Act, I would start with the four-pillar framework that Trump proposed when he offered a legalization program for DREAMers during his first presidency.

Read more at https://thehill.com/opinion/immigrat...ure-democrats/

Published originally on The Hill.

Nolan Rappaport was detailed to the House Judiciary Committee as an Executive Branch Immigration Law Expert for three years. He subsequently served as an immigration counsel for the Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Claims for four years. Prior to working on the Judiciary Committee, he wrote decisions for the Board of Immigration Appeals for 20 years.