With a fifth change to the Dream Act, Democrats are hoping to pass a bill that would help undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children.
The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act was introduced in August 2001. The bill would provide certain undocumented immigrant students who graduated from high school, who have good moral character and have been in the country for at least five years continuously prior to the bill's enactment, the opportunity to earn conditional permanent residency if they complete two years in the military or two years at a four year institution of higher learning.
The new version was filed by Sens. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Richard Durbin, D-Ill., on Tuesday and showed some noticeable changes including:
- Undocumented immigrants would be barred from receiving in-state tuition
- Age of eligibility would drop from 34 to 29.
- Permanent legal status would not be granted to anyone for at least 10 years.
- Eligibility would be restricted for those who commit certain misdemeanor crimes.
- Individuals would be limited from being able to sponsor family members for U.S. citizenship
In a conference call Thursday, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano defended the Dream Act. She said the act would not only strengthen the military and economy, but also help Homeland Security with finding and deporting immigrants with criminal records.
"We don't punish those who themselves don't have fault," she said. "What doesn't make sense is to use our resources to prosecute young people who have no criminal record, were brought here for no fault of their own and have no individual culpability. It makes sense to allow those people to adjust their immigration status in a way that's firm, but fair."
Napolitano said her department worked with Congress members to provide technical assistance with the bill.
Napolitano is the latest member in the Obama administration to defend the Dream Act.
On Wednesday, Clifford Stanley, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, showed his support for the Dream Act in a press release, saying it would expand the eligible recruiting pool for the military.
"Throughout past and current conflicts, those who are not yet citizens have answered the call to defend their adopted nation," Stanley said. "Allowing Dream Act-eligible youth the opportunity to serve this nation would continue this tradition of service while expanding the market of high-quality patriotic youth to the advantage of military recruitment and readiness."
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