Push Is On to Pass DREAM Act

Breaking News: The House has passed the DREAM Act by a 216-198 [1]margin. Eight Republicans voted for the bill and 38 Democrats voted against it.

As Congress prepared to vote on the DREAM Act today, thousands of students, immigrant activists, religious and political leaders are making a last-minute push to pass the bill.

Across the country, thousands of workers and activists held vigils in support of the bill as part of a national day of action. Yesterday, groups of DREAM Act youth and supporters arrived on Capitol Hill with giant checks for $2.3 billion to give out to lawmakers. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated late last week that passing the DREAM Act would create $2.3 billion in revenue [2] over the next 10 years and slash the deficit by $1.4 billion.

Take action now. Call your representative at 1-866-967-6018 or your senators at 1-866-996-5161 and tell them:

America needs the DREAM Act now. This bill will allow undocumented youths to earn their legal status through either a college education or military service. Additionally, the DREAM Act strengthens the U.S. economy by cutting the deficit by $1.4 billion.

The Center for American Progress also reported on a recent study by the UCLA North American Integration and Development Center, which showed the total earnings of DREAM Act beneficiaries over the course of their working lives would generate about $1.4 trillion to $3.6 trillion over a 40-year period.

The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, which is supported by 66 percent of Americans [3], would allow undocumented students who have lived in the United States for at least five years and have graduated from high school or received a graduate equivalency diploma (GED) to legalize their immigration status by pursuing a college education or serving in the U.S. military.

In a statement [4], Janet Murguía, president of the National Council of La Raza, said today’s vote will have political significance:.

For Latinos, the fastest-growing segment of the nation’s electorate, the DREAM Act vote is a defining one.…The time for excuses is over. The DREAM Act has been around for over a decade and has been debated and supported by members of both parties. It is time for a vote, and no amount of excuses will hide which members chose to stand for innocent children, and which did not. And Latinos will remember exactly which side those members chose.

DREAM Act supporters, including the White House and cabinet members, are trying to win additional votes for the bill in the final hours before the votes. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Education Secretary Arne Duncan spoke in support of the bill at the Capitol today and other cabinet members are making phone calls to undecided senators.

The White House Office of Management and the Budget issued a statement encouraging senators to vote for the bill, calling it an “important step” toward the administration’s broader goal of comprehensive immigration reform.

Michael Gerson [5], a former Bush aide, explained in the Washington Post that rather than debate the DREAM Act on its merits, many Republicans are practicing partisan politics rather than governing for the overall good.

The DREAM Act would be a potent incentive for assimilation. But for some, assimilation clearly is not the goal. They have no intention of sharing the honor of citizenship with anyone called illegal—even those who came as children, have grown up as neighbors and would be willing to give their lives in the nation’s cause.