House passes DREAM Act, Senate votes to table

From IDS Reports

The U.S. Senate voted 59-40 to table the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, which it was to have voted on at 11 a.m. Thursday.

The DREAM Act, introduced by Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., and Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., in March 2009, would provide incentive for young illegal immigrants to attend college or perform military service.

The act would allow those who have lived in the U.S. for at least five years and are younger than 30 years of age to obtain temporary legal status after completing high school, a GED or being admitted to college, according to National Immigration Law Center.

To qualify for the program, the person would have to have no criminal record and be of good moral character.

Immigrants who serve in the military or attend college would be granted permanent legal status after two years of education or service.

The DREAM Act, if passed in the U.S. Senate, would not allow those with temporary legal status to receive certain federal student aid, such as the Pell Grant, while they attended school.

The Act would also leave it up to the states whether or not to let universities grant in-state tuition to illegal immigrants, which is currently penalized under federal law, according to NILC.

“We want other people, the less fortunate, to be able to graduate and walk across the stage and fulfill their dreams,” said Omar Gama, a member of DREAM IU, a student advocacy organization, in an earlier interview with the Indiana Daily Student.

Opponents of the act have voiced the concern that it would reward illegal immigrants and serve as a slap in the face to immigrants who have gone through the legal process of becoming a citizen.

Opponents also worry that the states would unfairly grant in-state tuition to illegal immigrants over legal citizens.

The decision to table the DREAM Act will give senators at least another week for discussion before they vote on its fate.

The DREAM Act passed in the U.S. House of Representatives with 216 votes Wednesday night.