News Update - September 29, 2007
By Alan Lee, Esq.†‡
Help Keep The DREAM ACT Alive
The Dream Act was supposed to come up for a vote this week. Senator
Durbin introduced the legislation (S.A. 2919) on Friday, 9/21/07
in the Senate as an amendment to the 2008 Department of Defense
Authorization Bill (H.R. 1585). The bill would benefit young people
(under 30) who grew up in the USA (entered before age 16). Students
who attended or who are in attendance in high school or college
could be given immediate relief as conditional residents with its
passage and become eligible to adjust status to permanent residence
at a later date. Unfortunately, Senate Republicans blocked the action.
Majority Leader Harry Reid stated he would set aside time for DREAM
ACT debate in mid-November. The delay is disappointing to many advocates,
but along with Agjobs, the DREAM ACT as a “narrowly tailored”
bill is probably the best hope for passage of any meaningful immigration
reform this year, especially given the collapse of efforts to pass
comprehensive immigration reform. The chances of passage, however,
are dimmed if considered as separate legislation. The American Immigration
Lawyers Association in its latest advisories stated that anti-immigration
forces were reaching senators at a rate of 10-1 over pro-DREAM force
advocates. More communications with Senators are required to offset
the impression that the majority of the nation is against the DREAM
ACT. You can keep pressure on your legislator using the “Write
to Congress” tool on the bottom of our home page provided
by the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
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