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NILC Press Release on DREAM Act Re-intro

March 26, 2009

House and Senate introduce DREAM ACT: A measure to address the plight of immigrant students

Washington D.C. - Today, the DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act) was introduced by Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL), Richard Lugar (R-IN), Russell Feingold (D-WI), Edward Kennedy (D-MA), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Joe Lieberman (I- CT) Mel Martinez (R-FL), and Harry Reid (D-NV) in the Senate and Representatives Howard Berman (D-CA), Joseph Cao (R-LA), John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Devin Nunez (R-CA), Jared Polis (D-CO), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) and Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA) in the House of Representatives. This bipartisan legislation addresses the situation faced by young people who were brought to the United States years ago as undocumented immigrant children, and who have since grown up here but are being denied the ability to fully contribute to society.

The DREAM Act would provide certain undocumented youth conditional legal status and eventual citizenship, if they attend college or join the military. It would also allow immigrant students access to higher education by returning to states the authority to determine who qualifies for in-state tuition. “This critical piece of legislation makes it possible for many deserving young people to realize their dream of a college education” said Marielena Hincapié, Executive Director of the National Immigration Law Center, “and thereby contribute to the future of this country.”

For the first time since it was first introduced in 2001, the DREAM Act enjoys strong backing of House and Senate leadership, all of the relevant committee chairs and President Obama, who was an original sponsor of the legislation when he was in the Senate.

NILC commends the strong leadership shown by Senators Durbin and Lugar and Representatives Berman, Diaz-Balart and Roybal-Allard. “To be competitive in today’s global economy, America depends on an educated and skilled population,” said Adey Fisseha, Interim Federal Policy Director of NILC. “The DREAM Act realizes the benefit of having a more multicultural, multilingual U.S. workforce. We urge the House and Senate to pass the DREAM Act and President Obama to sign this important bill into law,” added Fisseha.

March 26, 2009

SEIU: “The DREAM Act will contribute to America’s future prosperity by freeing a new generation to build a stronger America.”

Washington, DC – Today, Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Richard Lugar (R-IN) introduced the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act in the U.S. Senate while Representatives Howard Berman (D-CA) and Lincoln Diaz-Balart (D-FL) introduced it in the House of Representatives. The DREAM Act would correct a flaw in our immigration laws that currently provide no path to legal status for young people who were brought to the U.S. years ago as undocumented immigrant children even if they have spent most of their lives here and have stayed in school and out of trouble. The DREAM Act would provide such a pathway that would take six years and apply only to those who entered before 2004 at the age of 15 or younger, and only if they graduate from high school and continue on to college or military service. Change to Win chair and SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger released the following statement:

“Since the beginning, America has always believed that if you work hard, dedicate yourself and give back to your community, you can achieve just about anything regardless of your family background. From the day our forbearers threw off the yoke of empire, to the dream of building a more perfect union or putting a man on the moon, we would not be the same nation if we had continued to hold people back based on skin color or religion, gender or national origin, or the past actions of their parents.

“Men and women, black and white, Hispanic, Scotch-Irish Jewish, Catholic and every other combination that make this the greatest country in the world have all contributed to our most important achievements. The DREAM Act will contribute to America’s future prosperity by freeing a new generation to build a stronger America.

“We have a choice: free these young people to realize their full potential so that they can contribute all of their talent to the future we will all share, or keep them in a place of uncertainty full of fear and lost opportunities. Among these students are countless future nurses, leaders, teachers, military heroes and inventors of the next great technological or medical breakthrough, people we can’t afford to hold back. SEIU’s 2 million members strongly support this bi-partisan legislation because it reinforces what America has always stood for – if you work hard you can make a difference and make the world a better place.”

March 26, 2009

NCLR APPLAUDS THE REINTRODUCTION OF THE “DREAM ACT”

Washington, DC ––The National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States, commends Senators Richard Durbin (D–IL) and Richard Lugar (R–IN) for reintroducing the “DREAM Act” today and Representatives Howard Berman (D–CA), Lucille Roybal-Allard (D–CA), and Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R–FL) for reintroducing the House version of this legislation, the “American Dream Act.”These bipartisan bills would allow immigrant students who are raised in the U.S. and graduate from U.S. high schools to attend college and start on the path to citizenship.

“One of the best ways for our nation to recover from the current economic crisis is to have an educated workforce. Students must have the opportunity to pursue a college education,” said Janet Murguía, NCLR President and CEO. “Since the ‘DREAM Act’ was first introduced in 2001, too many of our nation’s best and brightest students have graduated from high school with no prospect of going to college. Their experiences illustrate one of the many problems of our dysfunctional and outdated immigration system. We cannot continue to waste this talent.”

Every year, American high schools grant diplomas to 65,000 immigrant students who were brought to this country at a young age. Many of these youth have attended U.S. schools for most of their lives, but their immigration status bars them from opportunities that make a college education affordable, including in-state tuition rates, loans and grants, most private scholarships, and the ability to work legally. Despite their long-term residence in the U.S., these students are unable to further their educational accomplishments or fully contribute to the only country they know and call home.
The “DREAM Act” and the “American Dream Act” would address these challenges by restoring states’ rights to determine residency requirements for in-state tuition and establish a path to obtaining legal status for immigrant youth.

“NCLR remains committed to advancing the ‘DREAM Act’ as a part of comprehensive immigration reform. We see this as the first step in the upcoming immigration debate in Congress. Our country is deprived when hardworking immigrant youth are unable to pursue a college education and contribute to our economy. These students have extraordinary potential, and we must cultivate it to address the challenges before us,” Murguía concluded.