DREAM Act Portal Forum - Senate Democrats Adjust Scope of DREAM Act

Quote:

"Revised immigration legislation that Senate Democrats hope to pass in the lame-duck session would reduce the number of people eligible for conditional legal status and maintain a ban on in-state tuition rates for undocumented students, in a bid to gain more support for the measure.

"Late Wednesday 11/17, Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin, D-Ill., introduced two new versions of the so-called DREAM Act, which would create a path to conditional legal status for some undocumented children of illegal immigrants who go to college or join the military. Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., put both on the Senate calendar Thursday morning.

"In what appears to be an effort to offer options to the bill's critics, one version (S 3962) keeps an eligibility age of younger than 35 for the program, but a second version (S 3963) lowers that age to younger than 30. Versions of the bill in previous sessions had the age pegged at 30 and as low as 25.

"If no other eligibility criteria are changed, the potential number of people eligible would drop slightly, from roughly 2.1 million to slightly more than 2 million, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute. Fewer than half of those would probably meet all the bill's criteria.

"In addition, both new versions have been stripped of language that would restore the right to in-state college tuition rates for beneficiaries, a turnaround also geared to win more support from lawmakers.

"Undocumented students have been ineligible for in-state tuition rates since 1996, when Congress passed the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (PL 104-208). The previous Senate version of the legislation that failed earlier this fall would have restored that right, but the two new versions would not.

Under Pressure
"The changes are intended to win over critics of the legislation, which is on a wish list of bills that Democrats want to pass before they adjourn and lose their majority status in the House in the 112th Congress. After failing to deliver a promised comprehensive immigration overhaul, Democrats are under pressure from activists to pass the narrower legislation in light of Hispanics' strong support for Democratic candidates in the Nov. 2 elections.

"The legislation is contentious not only because of the fraught politics of immigration in both parties, but also because of pressure to pass more sweeping legislation. Some key GOP senators are demanding stronger border security and say they will not support a narrower bill that does not make other changes to immigration laws.

"Utah Republican Orrin G. Hatch said that the age limit in the narrower legislation was not his only concern, though he added he has not focused on the legislation in some time. Hatch authored the original legislation with an age cutoff of 25.

"My empathy is with that type of legislation, and I'll just have to look at it," he said. "They're doing it for purely political reasons, and that's not what I think ought to be done."

"Efforts to pass the legislation in the Senate will probably focus on moderate GOP members whom Democrats often court as allies. The votes of departing lawmakers and the handful of Republicans who supported legislation in the past will also be sought.

"At least two Republicans support the legislation as a stand-alone measure. One is sponsor Richard G. Lugar, R-Ind. Another is Robert F. Bennett of Utah, who is leaving the Senate.

"I support the DREAM Act as free standing legislation, but putting it in a bill that has a number of objectionable aspects is not something I support. If Harry Reid brings it to the floor as a stand-alone bill, I will vote for it," Bennett said in a statement.

"When the Senate voted in September on a defense bill that Reid wanted to amend with the immigration legislation, Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor, both Arkansas Democrats, voted against the move.

"Lincoln was defeated on Nov. 2, and she said this week that she intends to vote for the immigration bill as a stand-alone legislation.

"There's a lot of bright young minds out there that we've invested a lot of resources in, and being able to continue that education is an important thing," she said.

"President Obama has pledged to help Democrats pass the bill, and Education Secretary Arne Duncan also pressed the case on Thursday, saying that potential beneficiaries are an "untapped pool of talent." He acknowledged that changes to the legislation were under discussion, and said Congress should seize the opportunity to pass the bill.

"We need to break through on this one," he said."

http://sinelson.typepad.com/susan-i-...rat/dream-act/

This is totally under the radar. I know I know, I hate the source of this article; but i have double checked all the fact in this article. I even looked up in the congressional library for the bills mentioned in this article, and it's true that late Wednesday night Durbin has introduced two new Dream Act bills with narrower focus.