President Obama yesterday called on Congress to pass the DREAM Act before the 111th Congress adjourns.
The DREAM Act would provide young people who came to the United States with their parents a path to U.S. citizenship after attaining a college degree or serving in the military.
While the DREAM Act had previously received bipartisan support, the bill was defeated in September by a Republican filibuster in the Senate—blocking an important step toward long-awaited immigration reform.
Earlier this year, dozens of undocumented young people gathered outside of the Capitol in Washington—to tell their stories and urge lawmakers to pass this bill that would let them serve or attend college and get on the path to citizenship:
Claudia graduated from college in Texas with a double major in English and political science and now wants to go to law school. But since she’s not a citizen, she’s unable to afford the cost on her own.
“I came to the United States from Mexico when I was 15. We were just going to stay for a short period, but I was here visiting the U.S. when 9/11 happened, and I decided to stay when I saw what a great country our country was. After I graduated from college, I went to New Orleans, now I’m there doing nonprofit work. I’m still waiting to go to law school, but I can’t. I’m ready to give back to the country if the country embraces me as much as I’ve embraced it. I want to do pro bono work—I’ll be giving back to the community, especially in New Orleans, which needs it so much.”
After discussing the DREAM Act with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus yesterday, the President repeated his hope that “congressional Republicans would work with their Democratic colleagues not only to strengthen security at the nation’s borders but also to restore responsibility and accountability to what everyone agrees is a broken immigration system.”