Senate Votes Tomorrow on DREAM Act

Sixty votes needed to overcome Republican-led filibuster

Last night Senate majority leader Harry Reid filed for cloture on the DREAM Act and a repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." The procedure locked in a vote on the DREAM Act for Saturday morning at around 10 a.m. The DREAM Act would allow undocumented immigrant youth to earn their citizenship by attending college or serving in the military for two years. The bill passed the House of Representatives last week, but faces uncertain prospects in the Senate, where it must obtain 60 votes to overcome a Republican-led filibuster.

Massachusetts Senator John Kerry supports the DREAM Act, but Senator Scott Brown declared his opposition to the bill as recently as Monday. His opposition stands in stark contrast to the endorsement of DREAM by university presidents from Bunker Hill to Harvard and editorial boards from the Boston Globe to the Boston Herald.

The following is a statement from Eva Millona, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition."Hundreds of thousands of innocent youth across this country are waiting on the U.S. Senate to end their legal, social and economic limbo by passing the DREAM Act. The version now before the Senate is the toughest yet devised, with provisions that limit its one-time applicability to youth under the age of 30 who came to this country at age 15 or younger, and who completed their high school studies here. The parents of these children would generally not be eligible for any benefit from this act, and the children themselves would have to pay for college without the benefit of any government assistance."

"Massachusetts has the seventh largest immigrant population in the nation, with one million foreign-born residents," Millona continued. "This week, the census bureau release information that confirms the diversity and vitality of that population, which represents 17 % of our workforce and has helped keep our economy among the nation's strongest in these difficult economic times. The youth that this bill serves would only further bolster our communities and our economy. As the Congressional Budget Office has shown, these youth would contribute billions in additional tax receipts to our states and our nation, if only we give them a chance. We hope that Senator Brown and others who have been opposed to DREAM will reconsider their position, allowing these youth to become a full part of the only country they know as home."

MIRA urges everyone to contact the Senate at the following numbers:

Contact YOUR Senator (these lines patch you directly to your state senator)
Spanish: 866-961-4293
English: 866-996-5161

Contact a TARGET Senator (this line randomly routes to senators who need to hear from voters)
Spanish 866-956-3902
English: 866-587-6101

Watch the Senate Debate LIVE Saturday starting at 10:00AM:


Photo: Students gathered for “United We Dream! Commencement Ceremony,” in Washington, D.C. Photo: NIKKI KAHN/KRT/Newscom

Gov. Patrick urges MA Senators to make the youths' DREAM a reality.

The following is an excerpt from the State House News Service:

STATE CAPITOL BRIEFS – LUNCH EDITION – WEDNESDAY, DEC. 1, 2010
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE


PATRICK LOBBIES BROWN, KERRY ON DREAM ACT

Gov. Deval Patrick, a supporter of in-state higher education tuition rates for eligible undocumented immigrants, has asked Sens. Scott Brown and John Kerry to support the DREAM Act, saying in a letter that he anticipated Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to bring it up for a vote this week. In a Nov. 24 letter to Brown and Kerry, Patrick said the act would establish a pathway for immigrant students to attain permanent residency if they came to the United States as children, are long-term residents, have good moral character, and attend an institution of higher learning or serve in the military for at least two years. "We have always been and will continue to be a nation that depends and thrives on the contributions of immigrants and refugees," Patrick wrote. "Our nation and our economy have been at their best when we have welcomed the ideas, work and commitment of our immigrants." Patrick said the DREAM Act would also authorize states to determine for themselves "whether educational benefits would be made available equally to all of the state's residents." Patrick wrote, "I believe that all immigrant young men and woman, who attend our high schools, earn their way into college, and commit to addressing their immigration status, should be afforded the same access to higher education as any other resident." On Nov. 16, Patrick told an audience gathered by the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition at Boston's Tremont Temple that he would implement all 131 recommendations in a year-old administration report on issues facing immigrants. The report includes controversial plans to provide in-state tuition rates and driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. House Minority Leader Brad Jones said in-state tuition plans had failed before and would again, calling it a "ridiculous idea" and "a slap in the face to all Massachusetts taxpayers who expect state government to be focusing on stimulating the economy and putting people back to work."

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State House News Service - State Capitol Briefs