Web Posted: 11/18/2010 12:00 AM CST
Eight days have passed since a dozen students at the University of Texas at San Antonio began a hunger strike in support of immigration reform, and the students claim they will not eat until U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison votes in support of the DREAM Act.
The DREAM Act would provide a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants brought to the country before the age of 16. To be eligible, the immigrants must pass a criminal background check and either attend college or serve in the military for two years. A group of Hispanic Democratic lawmakers is urging President Barack Obama to help bring the DREAM Act to a vote during the lame duck session.
On Thursday, Hutchison met with so-called “DREAMers” from Texas in Washington, D.C., according to Lisette Mondello, a Hutchison spokeswoman. Hutchison was told the students would end the hunger strike if she met with them, Mondello said.
“Senator Hutchison again expressed her concern over the health of the students on hunger strikes. We hope it will stop,” Mondello said. “The senator has consistently stated that she cannot support the current DREAM Act legislation in its present form, but that she was willing to work toward an acceptable legislative product.”...more
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