The DREAM Act is legislation that could help hundreds of thousands of young people across the country. Here are 7 things you need to know about it:
1. What is it? The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act is a bipartisan bill that would grant conditional permanent residency to eligible students who arrived in the United States as children and have lived here for at least five years.
2. Who would be eligible? To qualify, students must have been younger than fifteen when they arrived in the United States and must have graduated from high school or obtained a GED. They also must have good moral character and pass a rigorous background check.
3. What’s required of them? If they are granted conditional permanent residency, they would have to attend college or serve in the military for two years to earn permanent legal status. Those who earn permanent legal status will be able to work legally, pay taxes, and apply for citizenship after three years.
4. What does this mean for me? The DREAM Act could help your friends and family members gain legal status if they qualify, but it will not affect you directly unless you are an undocumented student who qualifies for the bill yourself.
5. How many people could benefit from this bill
The DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors) would allow undocumented youth who came to the United States as children to gain legal status if they attend college or serve in the military. The bill was first introduced in Congress in 2001 with bipartisan support. Since then, it has passed the House of Representatives twice only to die in the Senate. Opponents of the DREAM Act have blocked its passage.
This year, President Obama announced that he will use his executive authority to allow some immigrant youths to apply for temporary relief from deportation and work permits under certain conditions. However, this new policy is not the same as a law that would provide permanent protection from deportation and a path to citizenship for eligible youth, like the DREAM Act would.
The DREAM Act remains necessary because it is a long-term solution and a more comprehensive alternative that allows students who graduate from high school and meet other requirements to earn legal status through college or military service instead of just temporary relief from deportation.
Here are 7 things you need to know about the DREAM Act:
The DREAM Act is a piece of legislation that, if passed, would grant legal residency to many undocumented young people who have lived in the United States for five years or more. In order to qualify, students must:
Have been brought to the U.S. before the age of 16
Have lived in the U.S. for at least five years
Be between the ages of 12 and 35 at the time of enactment
Have graduated from high school or served in the military
Have good moral character (no felony convictions)
If passed, the DREAM Act would help hundreds of thousands of undocumented youth achieve their dreams and contribute their talents to our country. It would give them access to legal residency, which would allow them to legally drive, legally work and legally go to college without fear of deportation. Moreover, it would allow them to contribute fully as taxpaying members of society.
The DREAM Act is a piece of bipartisan legislation that would give undocumented immigrant students a pathway to legal residency if they complete college or enlist in the U.S. military. If you’ve heard of the DREAM Act, chances are you have strong feelings about it.
Proponents say it’s a step forward for potential immigrants who are already contributing to the U.S. economy and should be allowed to continue to do so without fear of deportation.
Opponents argue that it’s a reward for undocumented immigrants who have broken the law by entering the country illegally, and that passing it would encourage more illegal immigration.
The bill has been introduced in several forms since 2001 but has never passed both houses of Congress and been signed into law. In 2010, however, it passed the House but was blocked by Republicans in the Senate.
Both parties have expressed interest in bringing up some version of the bill again this year, although as yet no specific wording has been introduced.*
The DREAM Act is a bipartisan bill that was first introduced in 2001. It stands for Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors. If the DREAM Act passes, it would provide conditional permanent residency to undocumented students who graduated from U.S. high schools, arrived in the United States as minors, and lived in the country continuously for at least five years prior to the bill’s enactment.
To qualify, they must also have good moral character, have been admitted to an institution of higher education or have earned a high school diploma or GED, and be between the ages of 12 and 35. The bill would also provide permanent residency to military personnel who served honorably in the armed forces for at least two years.
The DREAM Act was voted down by the Senate in late 2010. It needs 60 votes to pass in the Senate. In December 2010, it got 55 votes. Eight Republicans voted for it and three Democrats voted against it (Senators Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Mark Pryor of Arkansas and Max Baucus of Montana).
In March 2011, President Obama announced that he will not deport qualified young illegal immigrants who enroll in college or serve in the military under a new policy designed to bypass Congress and achieve part of his long-stalled plan to
1. The DREAM Act gives young, undocumented immigrants a path to citizenship.
2. Undocumented youth who were brought to the U.S. as children would be eligible for conditional permanent residence if they meet certain requirements, like completing two years of college or serving in the military.
3. After six years of maintaining good moral character, conditional residents could apply for permanent residency and eventually become U.S. citizens.
4. A special exception would allow undocumented youth who have been victims of human trafficking, domestic violence or other serious crimes to apply for permanent residency without having to first obtain conditional status.
5. The DREAM Act is not an amnesty program or a free giveaway—undocumented youth have to pay application fees and fines and graduate from high school or get their GEDs in order to qualify for conditional permanent resident status (CPR). This is similar to laws that exist in some states that provide in-state tuition rates at public universities for undocumented students who attended high school in that state and graduated from a U.S. high school (this is also known as “tuition equity”).
6. The DREAM Act would let more talented young people contribute their skills to our country and help strengthen the economy by giving them a
The DREAM (Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors) Act (S. 952/H.R. 1842), introduced by Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Representative Howard Berman (D-CA), would permit certain undocumented youth who came to the United States as children to adjust their immigration status. The bill has been introduced in several different sessions of Congress since 2001. It has until now never passed either house, but there has been some movement on the bill in the past few years. Since it was first introduced, it has picked up a fair amount of bipartisan support and has been combined with other legislation that would provide relief to immigrant youth while also tightening border security and increasing deportations.
What is in the current version of the DREAM Act?
1. Must have entered the U.S. before age 16
2. Must have lived in the U.S. for at least five consecutive years since date of entry
3. Must have graduated from a U.S. high school or earned a GED
4. Must be between 12 and 35 years old when applying for conditional residency
5. Cannot have been convicted of a felony offense, a significant misdemeanor or three or more misdem
