News Update - September 20, 2010

By Alan Lee, Esq.

Dream Act to Come Up for Vote in Senate Very Soon!

In a major surprise, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D.-Nevada) announced on September 15, 2010, that he would attach the DREAM (Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors) Act to the Department of Defense Authorization Bill which will come before the Senate as early as this week.  In doing so, Senator Reid gives the DREAM Act a good chance of gaining approval in 2010.  The Act in the past has enjoyed bipartisan support, but such support cannot be counted on in this contentious election year.  The Defense Authorization Bill, however, is a piece of legislation which must be passed, and the fight will be over whether the Republicans can muster enough power and will to strip the DREAM Act from the bill.  An important procedural vote is set for Tuesday, September 21st.  If passed into law separately from Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR), the downside for pro-immigration advocates is a weakening of CIR appeal, of which the most attractive parts to many are the DREAM Act and AgJOBS (the Agricultural Job Opportunities, Benefits, and Security Act would provide earned adjustment for current undocumented agricultural workers and further reform the H-2A visa program). 

To qualify for the DREAM Act, an individual must have first entered the U.S. before the age of 16; be physically present for a continuous period of five years before the law is enacted; and either be in college, completed high school, or obtained a GED, and not be inadmissible for crimes, security or smuggling (or be deportable on the same grounds) although a waiver would be available if there would be extreme hardship to the individual, the individual's child, or his or her parents (if the alien is still a child). A six year period of conditional residence is contemplated, and a petition to remove the conditional basis of the residence status could be made 180 days before to two years after (or any extensions given by Congress) the six year date. Among other requirements, a successful removal petition must show that the student has not left the United States for a total of 365 days during the period of conditional residence and the individual must have two years in good standing in a bachelor's or higher degree program in the U.S. or a college degree in the U.S. or have served in the military for two years. A waiver of the latter condition is available if the individual can show compelling circumstances for not being able to complete one of the three and exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to the individual or the individual's spouse, parent, or child who are either U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Children who have not completed high school or are in college or have obtained a GED, but are at least 12 years of age, enrolled full time in a primary or secondary school and meet all the other requirements would be allowed a stay of removal and employment authorization.

The American Immigration Lawyers Association believes that the following senators' support is critical, and readers are encouraged to call them (they can all be reached at
(888) 254-5087 or (202) 224-3121), and ask them to vote for the Dream Act:

Sen. Kay Bailey-Hutchison, R - Texas
Sen. Max Baucus, D - Montana
Sen. Michael Bennet, D - Utah
Sen. Sam Brownback, R - Kansas 
Sen. Jim Bunning, R - Kentucky
Sen. Susan Collins, R - Maine
Sen. Kent Conrad, D - North Dakota
Sen. Byron Dorgan, D - North Dakota
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D - California
Sen. Judd Gregg, R - New Hampshire
Sen. Kay Hagan, D - North Carolina
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R - Utah
Sen. Mary Landrieu, D - Louisiana
Sen. George LeMeiux, R - Florida
Sen. John McCain, R - Arizona
Sen. Bill Nelson, D - Florida
Sen. Mark Pryor, D - Arkansas
Sen. Pat Roberts, R - Kansas
Sen. Olympia Snowe, R - Maine
Sen. Jon Tester, D - Montana
Sen. George Voinovich, R - Ohio

 


The author is a 30+ year practitioner of immigration law based in New York City. He was awarded the Sidney A. Levine prize for best legal writing at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1977 and has written extensively on immigration over the past years for the ethnic newspapers, World Journal, Sing Tao, Pakistan Calling, Muhasha and OCS. He has testified as an expert on immigration in civil court proceedings and was recognized by the Taiwan government in 1985 for his work protecting human rights. His article, "The Bush Temporary Worker Proposal and Comparative Pending Legislation: an Analysis" was Interpreter Releases' cover display article at the American Immigration Lawyers Association annual conference in 2004, and his victory in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in a case of first impression nationwide, Firstland International v. INS, successfully challenged INS' policy of over 40 years of revoking approved immigrant visa petitions under a nebulous standard of proof. Its value as precedent, however, was short-lived as it was specifically targeted by the Administration in the Intelligence Reform Act of 2004.

This article © 2010 Alan Lee, Esq.

 

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