http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2007/07/19/dream
An amendment that would attach the Development, Relief and Education for
Alien Minors (DREAM) Act to the Department of Defense authorization bill never
made it to the Senate floor Wednesday after Democratic leaders, unsuccessful in
their bid to compel a withdrawal of troops from Iraq, shifted gears to focus on
student loan legislation. Still, the attempt to connect a critical defense bill
with the DREAM Act — which would, among other things, provide a pathway to
permanent residency for undocumented immigrants who undertake at least two years
of college or military service – may represent a shift in strategy for advocates
who have watched the bill long languish amidst contentious and inconclusive
immigration reform battles.
U.S. Senators Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), Chuck
Hagel (R-Neb.) and Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) were expected to introduce an
amendment encompassing the DREAM Act during the debate of the defense
authorization bill that was cut short Wednesday. Sandra Abrevaya, a spokeswoman
for Senator Durbin, said Wednesday afternoon that the majority whip will still
be looking to introduce the amendment whenever the Senate next returns its
attention to the defense authorization bill, and added that, should this
approach ultimately fail, “He’ll look at the very next opportunity.”
In
addition to offering the permanent residency pathway to illegal immigrants who
entered the country before age 16, the amendment also would clarify these
students’ eligibility for in-state tuition (a murky and much-debated issue at present) and, for the first
time, render them eligible for federal student loans and work study. Although
the original DREAM Act was first proposed in Congress in 2001, and was included
in the Senate’s unsuccessful stab at comprehensive immigration reform
this spring, the full House and Senate chambers have yet to take a vote on
the act as a stand-alone measure.
“I think we have a shot at passage; we’re
expecting that it will need 60 votes to prevail because most of the amendments
that have come up have faced a filibuster,” said Jim Hermes, senior legislative
associate for the American Association of Community Colleges, one of 11 higher
education associations that registered support for the DREAM Act in a Tuesday letter from David Ward, president of the American
Council on Education.
“Obviously this is something that is connected to the
overall issue of immigration reform, but this particular issue in terms of
expanding the opportunity to people who were brought here as kids we think is 1)
a less controversial issue and 2) one that speaks to basic issues of fairness
and justice,” Hermes said.
The measure, though less controversial than other
immigration reform proposals, is still likely to face some significant
opposition from lawmakers who don’t want to reward illegal entry into the United
States. “My heart goes out to all those who aren’t in control of their destiny
... but by the same token, the United States needs to be in control of its own
destiny,” Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) said during a Congressional hearing on undocumented student
issues in May.
Despite the impasse over Iraq that forced the bill off the
floor Wednesday, the authorization act, in some form, is “a must-pass bill,”
Hermes pointed out. “At some point, they’ll have to come back to it.”
“There
are a lot of questions on the broader-based [defense authorization] bill,” said
Melissa Lazarin, associate director for education policy for the National
Council of La Raza. “We’re hopeful that we will have an opportunity to debate
this amendment. But if this vehicle does not work out, we will be identifying
other vehicles to pass this.”
— Elizabeth
Redden
juli
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