Charlotte supporters are cautiously ecstatic that the House passed the bill.
The fate of the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act now rests with the Senate. Supporters and Opponents are on edge.
The Dream Act has been on the Congressional table since 2003. The last time the Senate voted on the Dream Act was in September when it failed to get the necessary 60 votes to overcome a Republican filibuster.
That vote was 52 to 44. The vote this morning is likely to be as close.
The House surprised many by passing the measure. Some 38 Democrats joined Republicans voting against the measure, but eight Republicans voted for the measure.
William Gheen, president of ALIPAC, called those Republicans “turncoats.”
“The he chances amnesty will pass the senate in the morning and become law are very high,” he said in an email to members. “To many Americans are relaxed by these unfounded assurances.”
Supporters of the Dream Act meanwhile are cautiously ecstatic.
Locally, students have been rallying around the Dream Act, telling their stories and organizing their peers to make calls to their representatives. Students have sent over 100 letters to Senator Kay Hagan, a Greensboro Democrat, alone urging her to support of Dream Act, according to the Latin American Coalition.
Votes by Democrats like Hagan will be key in this vote.
Hagan told the Observer in September that she felt the Dream Act should be considered in the context of comprehensive immigration reform, not as a stand-alone bill."
Lacey Williams, the Youth Civic Engagement and Advocacy Organizer at the Latin American Coalition, said the vote was encouraging.
“The fate of thousands of young students' futures is on the line tomorrow. All eyes are now on the Senate.”
UPDATE 11 a.m.: The Senate voted 59 -40 to postpone a decision on the Dream Act. A new vote is expected week.
Photo: C.M. GUERRERO, EL NUEVO HERALD -- Undocumented students march in downtown Miami in support of the DREAM Act.
The DREAM act is a nightmare for all American citizens. It devalues our citizenship and grants it to both students and their families just because they went to two years of college. It will make more than 5 million people legal after they bring in all of their family members. It means much more competition for jobs and a lot more government payouts to people who shouldn't even be in the country.
ReplyDeleteHow honorable it must be to want to ride the coattails of a law over 100 years old which was intended to help those who family survived after living and who had many family members who died under oppression for them to get this right of citizenship, after being forced to come here.
ReplyDeleteNow fast forward to today and the fact you get across the boarder as merely a gleam in your mother's eye you are a citizen.
I just wonder if we should have a national discussion as to the validity of this law today?
Anyone have any ideas why this law is still needed today?
This is a failure. You do not reward illegal behavior, period. If you want what this country has to offer then you stand in line like everyone else and do it LEGALLY! You cannot pick and choose which laws you will enforce and which ones you will not.
ReplyDeleteWell, good news is the Dream Act is tabled. Meaning there is no chance for it to pass.It strikes me odd that it is news when Illegal (felons)march in our streets and demand their rights. It also is strange for people of Latino Heritage that are now Americans to sponsor and assist these criminals. Didn't you our your parents do the proper procedures to become Americans? If so why do you feel aligned with foreign felons? The problem is and will always be; this is America for Americans, It has and will always be. You are welcome if done properly if not you are a criminal.
ReplyDeleteOrdonez never met a law he didn't like to break.
ReplyDeleteKeep the NO votes at the forefront of every Senator and Congressman using e-mail and phone. This is another of a string of farces Reed and his cronies are trying to push through in this lamb duck session. Keep an eye on them. They're sneaky.
ReplyDeletePassing the DREAM Act would be a sham and a disgrace for all those immigrants who came here LEGALLY like my grandparents. They came here through Ellis Island, worked hard, raised their children, and achieved the American Dream. Deport all ILLEGALS and the children they had here to "anchor" themselves. Have them get an education in their homeland and then, if they wish, come back here LEGALLY. They are parasites who are taxing our services for those who deserve them legitimately.
ReplyDeleteAs usual our government thinks more of criminals and illegals than they do we citizens, I have no doubt this will pass! Disgusting!
ReplyDeleteNo, No, No! Illegals are, whether your name is O'kelly or Ordinez, breaking the law. It is too bad that the parents of these kids broke the law and have their kids in a limbo; however, criminals are criminals. Don't reward criminal behavious with the bonus of citizenship!
ReplyDeleteThis bill should fail and needs to fail.
ReplyDeleteThe hierarchy should be a comprehensive and broad immigration bill then a supplemental bill, defining the scope of minors (<18) as written int his act.
The cart before the horse.
NO IT DIDN'T PASS THIS TIME! YEAH!!!!!
ReplyDeleteFINALLY a vote for the LEGAL Citizens of this country! Better luck next year Peter! NOT!!!!!!!!!
Sorry about that I meant Franco :-)
ReplyDelete