The DREAM Act (acronym for Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors) is an American legislative proposal first introduced in the Senate on August 1, 2001[1] and most recently reintroduced there on May 11, 2011.
This bill would provide conditional permanent residency to certain illegal aliens of good moral character who graduate from US high schools, arrived in the US as minors, and lived in the country continuously for at least five years prior to the bill's enactment. If they were to complete two years in the military or two years at a four year institution of higher learning, they would obtain temporary residency for a six year period. Within the six year period, they may qualify if they have "acquired a degree from an institution of higher education in the United States or has completed at least 2 years, in good standing, in a program for a bachelor's degree or higher degree in the United States" or have "served in the armed services for at least 2 years and, if discharged, has received an honorable discharge".[2] Military enlistment contracts require an eight year commitment, with active duty commitments typically between four and six years, but as low as two years.[3][4] "Any alien whose permanent resident status is terminated... shall return to the immigration status the alien had immediately prior to receiving conditional permanent resident status under this Act."[5] This bill would have included illegal immigrants as old as 35 years of age.
In a December 2010 report, the Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Committee on Taxation estimated that the November 30th, 2010 version of the DREAM Act would "reduce deficits by about $1.4 billion over the 2011-2020 period and increase government revenues by $2.3 billion over the next 10 years."[6] The same report also notes that the Act "would increase projected deficits by more than $5 billion in at least one of the four consecutive 10-year periods starting in 2021".
One recent UCLA study estimates that between $1.4 trillion and $3.6 trillion in taxable income would be generated for the economy over a 40 year period based upon estimates ranging between 825,000 and 2.1 million potential DREAM Act beneficiaries successfully obtaining resident status through the legislation.[7]
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Members of Congress have introduced several forms of this bill in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Members in the House passed one such bill on December 8, 2010 by a vote of 216-198;[8] Senators debated a version of the DREAM Act on September 21, 2010. A previous version of the bill, S.2205, which required 60 votes to gain cloture, failed on a 52-44 vote in 2007, 8 votes short of overcoming a filibuster by senators opposed to the bill.[9]
The United States military faced challenges in enlistment, which in 2005 were described as a "crisis",[10] though the economic downturn of 2007-2010 did away with many of the enlistment challenges. Immigrants without a United States Permanent Resident Card (also known as a green card) are not allowed to enlist. In 2007, several senior officials at the Department of Defense have spoken in favor of promising resident status to members of the military as a means of boosting recruitment.[11]
Under the 2009 version of the Senate bill[12] DREAM Act beneficiaries must:
During the first six years, qualifying illegal immigrants would be granted "conditional" status and would be required to (a) graduate from a two-year community college or complete at least two years towards a four-year degree or (b) serve two years in the US military. After this six year period, those who meet at least one of these three conditions would be eligible to apply for permanent resident status. During this six year conditional period, they would not be eligible for federal higher education grants such as Pell grants but they would be able to apply for student loans and work study.[15]
If they have met all of the conditions at the end of the 6-year conditional period, they would be granted permanent residency, which would eventually allow them to become U.S. citizens.[16] It is not known how many of those eligible would go on to complete the further requirements. One organization estimated that only 7,000–13,000 college students nationally can fulfill the further obligations.[17] A different analysis found that over 2 million illegal aliens could benefit under the Act.[18]
The bill also restores the option for states to determine residency for purposes of higher education benefits by repealing Section 505 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1623).[12] The majority of states interpret this provision as disqualifying illegal immigrants students from certain higher education benefits such as in-state tuition rates.[19] Some states have enacted laws aimed at making unauthorized state residents eligible for in-state tuition rates without violating this IIRIRA provision.[20] However, some students paying out-of-state tuition have filed lawsuits in these states, claiming state education officials violated this federal law.[21]
A very similar version of the bill, though never called the "DREAM Act", was introduced during the 107th Congress in 2001, as H.R.1918 and S.1291 in the House and Senate respectively. The House bill had the backing of Congressman Luis Gutiérrez. It has been introduced in both the Senate (as the "DREAM Act") and the House (as the "American Dream Act") at various times. In the Senate: S.1545 (108th Congress), S.2075 (109th Congress), S.774 (110th Congress), and S.2205 (110th Congress). In the House: H.R.1684 (108th Congress), H.R.5131 (109th Congress), and H.R.1275 (110th Congress).
The text of the bill was also placed in various other failed immigration-related bills, including the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006 (S. 2611) and the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 (S. 1348). With the failure of the "comprehensive reform" bills, Richard Durbin, the chief proponent of the DREAM Act in the Senate, made its passage a top priority for 2007.[22][23]
In September 2007, Durbin filed to place the DREAM Act as an amendment to the 2008 Department of Defense Authorization Bill (S. 2919).
However, there was a misconception that the bill required states to give in-state tuition to the beneficiaries of the DREAM Act when it allowed but did not require states to offer in-state to certain illegal immigrant students.[24] Also, the legislation did not include an age cap.
In light of the criticism, Durbin tabled the amendment in favor of a rewritten DREAM Act amendment to the Defense Bill. In consideration of their opponents, all language regarding in-state tuition was removed from the amendment and an age cap of 30 was put in place for potential beneficiaries.[24] Military leaders embraced the bill, which included the promise of resident status to members of the military, as a means of boosting recruitment.[25] Nevertheless, the amendment was not brought up for a vote.
On October 18, 2007, Durbin, along with Republican co-sponsors Charles Hagel and Richard Lugar, introduced the DREAM Act as S.2205. Though nearly identical to the revised amendment to the Defense Bill, opponents continued to cite previous arguments. To bring the DREAM Act up for debate, a vote was scheduled on October 24 that would require a filibuster-proof count of 60 yes votes, but that failed.[26]
Senate opponents cited a variety of reasons for their opposition. Some labeled the DREAM Act as amnesty that would encourage chain migration and further unauthorized immigration in anticipation of new versions of the DREAM Act. Others stated that the DREAM Act, though worthy legislation, should be enacted only as part of a comprehensive immigration reform. In light of the Senate's failure to successfully pass a single appropriations bill, some Senators stated that the DREAM Act was a distraction to more pressing matters and should rather be considered in January 2008. Finally, debate emerged as to the amendment process for the DREAM Act, specifically, how willing the Democratic leadership would be in allowing debate of Republican amendments.
In a surprise move, one senator, Kay Bailey Hutchison, who had previously stated that she would oppose consideration of the DREAM Act, announced on the Senate floor that she had expressed reservations to Durbin and he had made a verbal commitment to work with her to make changes that she saw necessary to garner greater Republican support. In response, Durbin announced that the first amendment that would be considered, should debate of the DREAM Act begin, would completely re-write the bill in favor of the language that Hutchison suggested. According to her suggestions, illegal immigrant students should be allowed to hold a temporary student visa with a renewable work permit instead of conditional permanent residency. Although 52 Senators voted in favor of considering the DREAM Act, this fell eight votes short of breaking filibuster and the legislation was not considered.[24]
The act was re-introduced in both chambers of Congress on Thursday, March 26, 2009, during the 111th Congress. Introducing the bill were Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Richard Lugar (R-IN), Harry Reid (D-NV), Mel Martinez (R-FL), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Joseph Lieberman (I-CT), Ted Kennedy (D-MA), and Russ Feingold (D-WI)[27] and U.S. Representative Howard Berman (D-CA). To date, 128 representatives[28] and 39 senators[27] (not including former Senator Edward Kennedy) co-sponsored the bill. Under this version of the DREAM Act, immigrants could qualify in part, by meeting the following requirements:
In addition to the temporary Residency, illegal immigrant students who qualified would also be entitled to apply for student loans and work study but would not be eligible for Pell grants. In certain circumstances, the illegal immigrant could lose temporary immigration residency if the illegal immigrant did not meet the educational or military service requirement within the six year time period or if they commited any crimes (other than those considered non-drug related misdemeanors) regardless of whether or not they had already been approved for permanent status at the end of their six years. If an illegal immigrant were convicted of a major crime or drug-related infraction, (except for a single offense of possession of 30 g or less of marijuana) they would automatically lose the six year temporary residence status and be immediately subject to deportation.[29]
The 111th Congress continued to consider the DREAM Act bill throughout 2010. S.3992, a new version of the DREAM Act, includes numerous changes to address concerns raised about the bill.
(Additionally, individuals would continue to be excluded if they have received a final order of deportation, have engaged in criminal activity (as defined by the Immigration and Nationality Act), or present a national security or terrorist threat.)
The DREAM Act, along with a repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", was incorporated into the National Defense Authorization Act for the Fiscal Year 2011. On September 21, 2010, the Senate filibuster of the bill was maintained in a 56–43 vote; it would have taken 60 votes to stop the filibuster and continue the progress of the bill.[30] The following day, Durbin introduced the bill once again along with Richard Lugar. Only two senators co-sponsored the bill and it was defeated again.[31] Less than a month later, on November 16, President Barack Obama and top Democrats pledged to introduce the Dream Act into the House by November 29.[32] The House of Representatives passed the DREAM Act on December 8, 2010,[33][34] but the bill failed to reach the 60-vote threshold necessary for it to advance to the Senate floor (55 yeas – 41 nays).[35]
On May 11, 2011 Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid reintroduced the DREAM Act in the Senate. Some Republicans who had supported the bill in the past, including Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, Jon Kyl of Arizona, John McCain of Arizona, and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, withheld their votes, objecting that such bill should not be granted without increasing immigration enforcement. Reid indicated that he would consider adding a workplace enforcement measure in the DREAM Act that would require every employer to use E-Verify, the government's Internet-based work eligibility verification system.[36] President Obama supported the bill as one of his efforts to reform US immigration system.[37]
In July 2011, the state of California enacted the California DREAM Act, giving illegal immigrant students access to private college scholarships for state schools.[38] In August, the state of Illinois authorized a privately-funded scholarship plan for children of immigrants both legal and illegal.[39]
Opponents of the DREAM Act argue that it encourages and rewards illegal immigration. Other stands include viewing it as importing poverty and cheap labor, being a military recruitment tool, having economic and social burdens (subsidies from state and federal taxes, degradation of the public school system and neighborhoods), and as being unfair to American-born and legal immigrant parents and children who must pay full tuition at state universities and colleges. Some concerns center on the parameters of the proposal, specifically that it would admit individuals who have already formed their identities overseas (i.e. people who arrived up to age 16), that illegal immigrants up to age 35 are allowed to legalize through it,[40] that it would result in massive fraud similar to the 1986 amnesty, and that it will encourage additional illegal immigration.[41] There are additional concerns that the DREAM Act will shield gang members from deportation.[42]