DREAM Act for Illegal Immigrants Faces Key Senate Vote

Dec. 17, 2010— -- The Senate is expected to vote Saturday on a controversial immigration measure that would provide a conditional path to legal residency for hundreds of thousands of young, undocumented immigrants first brought to the U.S. illegally by their parents.

The bill -- the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors, or DREAM Act -- passed the House last week. But it faces a much more difficult prospect in the Senate.

Republicans have indicated they may filibuster, presaging the same fate the bill met in 2007 when it last was brought to the Senate floor. Many call it an "amnesty" that could cost taxpayers and encourage continued illegal immigration.

If the measure fails in the Senate, it's unlikely to receive Congressional consideration for at least two more years.

"I'm always queasy before a vote," said Roy Beck, president of Numbers USA, a group that has been lobbying against the measure. "We're pulling out every stop we've got. We feel we've got 42 sure votes against this thing, and we only need 41 to kill it."

But supporters, who need 60 votes to override a GOP filibuster, said the outcome is far from certain.

"Both Republicans and Democrats are feeling increasing amounts of pressure from the courage of the students and the number of allies who have come to their side," said Ali Noorani, executive director of the National Immigration Forum. "The Catholic Bishops, higher education leaders from across the country, business, organized labor, and even political conservatives and evangelical Christian ministers are lobbying for the act."

The DREAM Act has been championed by immigration advocates and the White House as a reform that's previously garnered bipartisan support.

Its supporters say it would bring out of the shadows a fraction of the country's estimated 12 million illegal immigrants who have known only the U.S. as home, enhance military recruitment and give American employers access to a talented and highly-motivated pool of young workers.

Only immigrants younger than 30 who entered the U.S. before age 16, have lived here five years without a serious criminal offense, graduated high school or earned a GED and attend college or join the military among other requirements, would be eligible for legal residency.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates between 300,000 and 500,000 presently undocumented immigrants could benefit from the DREAM Act.

But many Republicans, including six who voted for the measure in 2007, are skeptical towards any show of leniency towards undocumented immigrants. And they say the bill rewards criminal behavior and could cost taxpayers millions of dollars while doing little to address the lagging U.S. economy.

"When it comes to immigration, our primary focus must remain on regaining the American people's trust by fully securing our borders that are threatened by emboldened and violent gangs, and fixing our broken immigration system," said Utah Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch, once a chief sponsor of the DREAM Act who now opposes the bill.