Post by Decatur on Dec 18, 2010 12:30:30 GMT -5
DREAM Act dies in Senate
By: Scott Wong and Shira Toeplitz - POLITICO
The weeks of rallies, hunger strikes and sit-ins and the thousands of phone calls placed to Senate offices didn’t pay off for immigration activists.
The decade-old DREAM Act once again failed to break a filibuster in the Senate on Saturday morning, effectively killing the bill this year and shutting the door on what perhaps was the last chance for pro-immigration reform legislation until at least the 2012 election.
Senate Democrats came up five votes short of the 60 needed to advance the House-passed bill, which would provide a path to citizenship for up to illegal immigrants brought to the country as children if they attend college or join the military for two years. The 55-41 vote was mostly along party lines, though a handful of Democrats — perhaps fearful of their 2012 election outlook — also voted against the DREAM Act.
This latest vote really didn't have a chance in the current political climate, which has moved decidedly against liberalizing immigration laws in recent years.
The DREAM Act’s defeat was a resounding victory for conservatives who have denounced the bill as a mass amnesty plan, and a blow for top Senate Democrats and the Obama administration who enlisted a half dozen cabinet secretaries to lobby undecided lawmakers and embark on a media blitz, highlighting that the bill would send more people to college, boost military recruitment and help the economy.
“This bill is a law that at its fundamental core is a reward for illegal activity,” said Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) on the floor an hour before the vote. “It’s the third time we’ve tried to schedule a vote on it during this lame-duck session. It’s the fifth version of this legislation that has been introduced in the past five months.”
In the final minutes before the vote, Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin pleaded with his colleagues from the floor to vote for the DREAM Act — or as he described it, an act of "political courage."
“Many of you have told me that you’re lying awake at night, tossing and turning over this vote, because you know how hard it’s going to be politically, that some people will use it against you,” Durbin said. “But I might say, if you can summon the courage to vote for the DREAM Act today, you will join ranks with senators before you, who came to the floor of these United States and made history with their courage. Who stood up and said the cause of justice is worth the political risk.”
After years of Congress failing to deal with the nation’s 11 million illegal immigrants, Hispanic leaders and immigration activists expressed frustration at the vote, vowing to target senators who cast no votes in 2012 and future elections.
For the lawmakers who voted against the bill, “it will be a defining vote in their career,” said Frank Sharry, executive director of America’s Voice, an immigrant advocacy group which has been fighting for the DREAM Act.
“They’re standing at the schoolhouse door, saying no to the best and the brightest of the Latino immigrant community,” he said, “and they will have a lot of explaining to do if they run for reelection or aspire to higher office.”
Democrats in recent days had brought forth immigrants who might benefit from the legislation to tell their personal stories, but the odds were stacked against the DREAM Act going into the vote on Saturday.
Julieta Garibay, an activist with the United We Dream Network, emigrated from Mexico City when she was 12. Now 30, Garibay said she is bilingual and received a master’s degree in nursing yet hasn’t been able to find a good job because of her undocumented status.
“It’s very disappointing. You work so hard for your degree, and then you just need to put it on hold. It’s no longer a matter of politics. These are lives, and this is my future,” said Garibay, who recently traveled to the Capitol from her home in Austin, Texas. “We’re going to remember who voted against us and we’re going to hold them accountable. It’s been enough talk, it’s been enough promises and compromises.”
The version of the DREAM Act considered by the Senate on Saturday was more narrowly tailored in an effort to appeal to moderate Democrats and Republicans. Those eligible for conditional legal status must have come to the U.S. before the age of 16, be under the age of 30, have lived in the country for five consecutive years, pass a criminal background test and have a high school diploma or GED equivalent.
Under the bill, children who were brought to the country illegally who go to college or sign up for the military for two years could receive permanent residency after 10 years.
But Sessions and other critics maligned the bill for weeks, saying it would offer amnesty to up to two million illegal immigrants and add billions of dollars to the federal deficit in the long term. They also complained that there were loopholes. For example, the bill doesn’t require beneficiaries to graduate from college and allows those who have committed up to two misdemeanor crimes to be eligible.
The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, first introduced in 2001 by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), initially received bipartisan support. But Republicans have mostly abandoned the legislation in recent years as the conservative wing of the party gained greater influence.
The Senate in September tried to pass the measure as part of a broader defense policy bill, but the effort was filibustered by Republicans. The Democratic-controlled House breathed new life into the legislation last week when it passed a standalone bill 216-198, but few expected the bill to attract a filibuster-proof 60 votes in the Senate.
Beginning next month, as the GOP grabs control of the House and more seats in the Senate, pro-immigrant measures will have even a more difficult time advancing.
But Ali Noorani, executive director of the National Immigration Forum, said this year’s fight for the DREAM Act have rallied conservative religious leaders, labor groups and mainstream celebrities behind a single cause.
In recent days, actress Jessica Alba, comedian Margaret Cho and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Junot Diaz have spoken in favor of the DREAM Act.
“While legislative votes did not move, it’s clear the country is moving in the direction of immigration reform,” Noorani said.
“This vote is the World Cup of immigration votes for the immigrant community,” he said, “and I think it’s going to be very clear for Latinos, Asians and other immigrant voters who voted for the DREAM Act and against the DREAM act, and the community will make a decision along those lines in 2012.”
By: Scott Wong and Shira Toeplitz - POLITICO
The weeks of rallies, hunger strikes and sit-ins and the thousands of phone calls placed to Senate offices didn’t pay off for immigration activists.
The decade-old DREAM Act once again failed to break a filibuster in the Senate on Saturday morning, effectively killing the bill this year and shutting the door on what perhaps was the last chance for pro-immigration reform legislation until at least the 2012 election.
Senate Democrats came up five votes short of the 60 needed to advance the House-passed bill, which would provide a path to citizenship for up to illegal immigrants brought to the country as children if they attend college or join the military for two years. The 55-41 vote was mostly along party lines, though a handful of Democrats — perhaps fearful of their 2012 election outlook — also voted against the DREAM Act.
This latest vote really didn't have a chance in the current political climate, which has moved decidedly against liberalizing immigration laws in recent years.
The DREAM Act’s defeat was a resounding victory for conservatives who have denounced the bill as a mass amnesty plan, and a blow for top Senate Democrats and the Obama administration who enlisted a half dozen cabinet secretaries to lobby undecided lawmakers and embark on a media blitz, highlighting that the bill would send more people to college, boost military recruitment and help the economy.
“This bill is a law that at its fundamental core is a reward for illegal activity,” said Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) on the floor an hour before the vote. “It’s the third time we’ve tried to schedule a vote on it during this lame-duck session. It’s the fifth version of this legislation that has been introduced in the past five months.”
In the final minutes before the vote, Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin pleaded with his colleagues from the floor to vote for the DREAM Act — or as he described it, an act of "political courage."
“Many of you have told me that you’re lying awake at night, tossing and turning over this vote, because you know how hard it’s going to be politically, that some people will use it against you,” Durbin said. “But I might say, if you can summon the courage to vote for the DREAM Act today, you will join ranks with senators before you, who came to the floor of these United States and made history with their courage. Who stood up and said the cause of justice is worth the political risk.”
After years of Congress failing to deal with the nation’s 11 million illegal immigrants, Hispanic leaders and immigration activists expressed frustration at the vote, vowing to target senators who cast no votes in 2012 and future elections.
For the lawmakers who voted against the bill, “it will be a defining vote in their career,” said Frank Sharry, executive director of America’s Voice, an immigrant advocacy group which has been fighting for the DREAM Act.
“They’re standing at the schoolhouse door, saying no to the best and the brightest of the Latino immigrant community,” he said, “and they will have a lot of explaining to do if they run for reelection or aspire to higher office.”
Democrats in recent days had brought forth immigrants who might benefit from the legislation to tell their personal stories, but the odds were stacked against the DREAM Act going into the vote on Saturday.
Julieta Garibay, an activist with the United We Dream Network, emigrated from Mexico City when she was 12. Now 30, Garibay said she is bilingual and received a master’s degree in nursing yet hasn’t been able to find a good job because of her undocumented status.
“It’s very disappointing. You work so hard for your degree, and then you just need to put it on hold. It’s no longer a matter of politics. These are lives, and this is my future,” said Garibay, who recently traveled to the Capitol from her home in Austin, Texas. “We’re going to remember who voted against us and we’re going to hold them accountable. It’s been enough talk, it’s been enough promises and compromises.”
The version of the DREAM Act considered by the Senate on Saturday was more narrowly tailored in an effort to appeal to moderate Democrats and Republicans. Those eligible for conditional legal status must have come to the U.S. before the age of 16, be under the age of 30, have lived in the country for five consecutive years, pass a criminal background test and have a high school diploma or GED equivalent.
Under the bill, children who were brought to the country illegally who go to college or sign up for the military for two years could receive permanent residency after 10 years.
But Sessions and other critics maligned the bill for weeks, saying it would offer amnesty to up to two million illegal immigrants and add billions of dollars to the federal deficit in the long term. They also complained that there were loopholes. For example, the bill doesn’t require beneficiaries to graduate from college and allows those who have committed up to two misdemeanor crimes to be eligible.
The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, first introduced in 2001 by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), initially received bipartisan support. But Republicans have mostly abandoned the legislation in recent years as the conservative wing of the party gained greater influence.
The Senate in September tried to pass the measure as part of a broader defense policy bill, but the effort was filibustered by Republicans. The Democratic-controlled House breathed new life into the legislation last week when it passed a standalone bill 216-198, but few expected the bill to attract a filibuster-proof 60 votes in the Senate.
Beginning next month, as the GOP grabs control of the House and more seats in the Senate, pro-immigrant measures will have even a more difficult time advancing.
But Ali Noorani, executive director of the National Immigration Forum, said this year’s fight for the DREAM Act have rallied conservative religious leaders, labor groups and mainstream celebrities behind a single cause.
In recent days, actress Jessica Alba, comedian Margaret Cho and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Junot Diaz have spoken in favor of the DREAM Act.
“While legislative votes did not move, it’s clear the country is moving in the direction of immigration reform,” Noorani said.
“This vote is the World Cup of immigration votes for the immigrant community,” he said, “and I think it’s going to be very clear for Latinos, Asians and other immigrant voters who voted for the DREAM Act and against the DREAM act, and the community will make a decision along those lines in 2012.”
