Hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants’ dreams were “deferred” when the Senate voted down the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act on Tues. Sept. 21. The defense spending bill needed a minimum of 60 votes to pass, to which the final tally was 56-43.
“I’m disheartened to hear what happened,” said Pablo Barrios, 22, nutrition major. “It doesn’t seem like too many people are thinking of the lives, the students, they are affecting.”
According to an article from World Correspondents posted Sept. 23, the DREAM Act would have provided “conditional permanent residency” to those who met the following criteria:
• Is under 35 years of age
• Has graduated high school or earned a GED
• Has been in the U.S. for at least five years prior to the date the law takes effect
• Was 16 years of age or younger when they entered the U.S.
• Is “a person of good moral character”
• Has not been under a judicial order of deportation since before they were 16.
The people who meet the above mentioned criteria would maintain temporary resident status for up to six years. Consequently, they would be able to gain permanent resident status if they either “acquired a degree from an institution of higher education in the United States, or has completed at least two years, in good standing, in a program for a bachelor’s degree or higher degree in the United States,” or “have served in the uniformed services for at least two years and if discharged, has received an honorable discharge,” according to the World Correspondents report.
Not a single Republican voted to pass the bill. Additionally, Arkansas Democratic Senators Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor voted against the bill, CBS News reported. Also, Majority Leader Harry Reid, Democrat from Nev., voted against the bill in a “procedural move” that will allow the bill to be reviewed at a later notice.
“The government has a bad bipartisanship,” said Joey LeMond, 19, kinesiology major. “Democrats and Republicans need to put aside their issued to solve the issues for the American people,” LeMond said.
In addition to the main issue, a pathway to citizenship for young illegal immigrants, the legislation was also working to repeal the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on gays, reported CBS News.
According to the article from CBS News, Reid said that by blocking the DREAM Act, Republicans were “putting partisan politics ahead of the best interest of the men and woman who courageously defend our nation.”
The bill would have authorized $726 billion in defense spending, including a pay raise for troops, according to the CBS News article.
“It goes beyond the economy,” said Barrios. “It has to do with what is right, what’s just.”
Karina Vich
Multiculture Editor
Mountiewire
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