I think the media is going crazy about the dream act being a piecemeal of reform this year. I really hope that congressmen pick up the dream act and debate on it. Obama looks for bipartisan support. CLEARLY the dream act has plenty of support from both parties. I will be sending more emails to senators for consideration, what you think?







Study gives Dream Act a wake-up call

Residency would be out of reach for most of the young immigrants the plan aims to help
By CLAUDIA MELÉNDEZ SALINAS
Herald Salinas Bureau
Posted: 07/10/2010 01:28:48 AM PDT
Updated: 07/10/2010 01:28:49 AM PDT

Proposed federal legislation that would give undocumented young people a path to legalization may help far fewer than originally anticipated.
Although an estimated 2.1 million undocumented young people in the United States could qualify for legalization under the Dream Act, socioeconomic barriers would make it difficult for many of them to meet the requirements.

A new analysis by the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan Washington-based think tank, estimates that only about 825,000 young people brought to the United States illegally by their parents — or 39 percent of the eligible pool — could potentially meet the educational or military service requirements to obtain legalization through the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act.

One of every four undocumented young people lives in California.

Introduced in Congress in different iterations every year since 2001, the Dream Act would grant a six-year conditional residency permit to people ages 16 through 34 if they graduated from high school. During those six years, the applicants would have to complete two years of college or serve in the military to earn permanent legal status.

Of the proposals to reform the U.S. immigration system, the Dream Act remains one of the most popular and has received the most bipartisan support.

In the Senate, the bill is sponsored by Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Illinois, and co-sponsored by 40 senators, including California Democrats Dianne

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Feinstein and Barbara Boxer.
In the House, it was introduced by Rep. Howard Berman, D-Van Nuys, and is co-sponsored by 124 members, including Rep. Sam Farr, D-Carmel.

President Barack Obama supports the bill.

The closest the bill has been to approval was in October 2007, when it failed to gain 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster in the Senate.

Still, its chances of passing, given the controversial nature of immigration, remain doubtful, said Muzaffar Chishti, director of the Migration Policy Institute office at New York University Law School.

"At best, the prospects of comprehensive immigration reform are uncertain," he said. "While the appetite for larger comprehensive reform is being debated, the focus is what potential piecemeal legislation can have an easier way of passage. One of the most obvious (pieces of) legislation for a long time has been the Dream Act."

But even if the legislative hurdles are overcome, it doesn't mean that 2.1 million people would suddenly be on their way to becoming permanent residents. While young people may have an easy time proving their presence in the United States — through school records — the higher education requirement is likely to be unattainable for many.

The Migration Policy Institute analysis breaks the potential beneficiaries into four categories:

· those who would immediately qualify for permanent status (those who have already completed two years of higher education, about 114,000);

· those who would qualify for conditional status (high school graduates, about 612,000);

· children younger than 18 (about 934,000); and

· people 18 to 34 with no high school degree (nearly 500,000).

The majority of children who would be eligible would be of Mexican origin. Based on that group's educational trends, income levels, how many of them are already likely to have started families of their own, and how many speak English proficiently (a necessary requirement to pursue higher education), institute researchers estimate fewer than half of those eligible would eventually meet the requirements to get legal permanent status.

"We looked at key characteristics how they may fare," said Margie McHugh, co-author of the analysis. "What you have in the report is essentially a very clear snapshot of this finite pool of individuals who are really the complete universe of people who would be able to try to get status."

Analysts put together the report in an effort to paint a picture of this population and what kind of services they may need, should the proposed legislation be enacted.

While the potential beneficiaries of the Dream Act may not be as many as originally expected, for Philip Tabera, president of the Tri-County Association of Latino Elected Officials, fewer is better than none.

"Immigration reform has a lot of parts to it, and if initially it helps close to a million students, that's a lot more than we have now," Tabera said. "That's a lot of people. Anything, it's going to help."

Claudia Meléndez Salinas can be reached at 753-6755 or [email protected].




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