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DREAM ACT PASSES US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard Calls on the U.S. Senate to Follow Suit
Washington, Dec 8 -
Following passage today in the U.S. House of Representatives of the DREAM Act by a vote of 216 to 198, Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-34) urged her colleagues in the U.S. Senate to follow suit in the days ahead. “I commend my colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives for passing the DREAM Act on behalf of countless young people raised in America but denied the rights and responsibilities of American citizenship,” said Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard, who is one of three co-authors of the legislation and has introduced the DREAM Act in the U.S. House of Representatives in every Congress since 2001. “I now implore my colleagues in the Senate to pass this legislation to help these talented and patriotic young people realize their potential as professionals, taxpayers and U.S. citizens.” The DREAM Act offers a prudent, equitable solution to the challenges that undocumented students face in attempting to gain admission to our colleges and universities. It provides a path to legalization and citizenship to students who entered the U.S. before the age of 15, have lived here for 5 years, and have completed two years of higher education or military service. Prior to today’s House vote, Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-34) made the following statement on the House floor: “Madam Speaker, I rise to join my colleagues in support of the DREAM Act which will help countless young people to fairly legalize their status. These youth are not criminals and bear no responsibility for the actions of the adults who brought them here illegally as children. Raised in the United States, they have the same American values and love of our country as children born here. Sadly, however, because of the actions of others, they live in fear of deportation from the only home they know. A recent UCLA study found that over the course of their working lives, if given the opportunity, Dream-eligible students have the potential to earn a total of 1.4 trillion dollars in additional income that could help fuel our country’s economic growth over the next four decades. While the DREAM Act does not fix our broken immigration system, it does address the tragic circumstances of thousands of blameless youth and it provides us with a critical opportunity to invest in the future of our country as well. I strongly urge my colleagues to join me in voting ‘yes’ on the DREAM Act.” ###
The DREAM Act will help correct this unfairness. With stringent criteria to qualify for legal status and a 10 year requirement toward earned citizenship, the bill would remove their impediments to employment and education so our country can benefit from their talents and enhanced contributions to our country.
Madam Speaker, we are a country that values children, not one that punishes them for the wrongdoing of their elders. Yet, that is exactly what is happening to these children today.