Sen. Harry Reid

RECENT POSTS

May 12, 2011 | 1:47 PM | By

Digging into the new Dream Act

Photo by Leslie Berestein Rojas/KPCC

A student activist’s t-shirt, March 2011

The latest version of the federal Dream Act that Senate Democrats plan to introduce is, at least for now, fairly similar to the version approved by the House last December.

As have its predecessors, the most recent Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act would grant conditional legal status to qualifying young people who are in the United States illegally but were brought here as minors under 16, provided they attend college or join the military.

The eligibility requirements for applicants, if the bill were to become law, remain much the same, However, there are a few key differences:

  • The age cap for applicants, which was reduced to age 29 last year, has been bumped back up to 35 years of age or younger
  • The length of conditional legal status before applicants may obtain permanent legal resident status has been reduced to six years, as in an earlier version, from 10 years
  • This version would, as did an earlier version (but not the House-approved one), seek to repeal a ban on in-state tuition rates for beneficiaries

Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Health/Education, Politics/Justice, Dream Act, Sen. Dick Durbin, Sen. Harry Reid
May 11, 2011 | 9:58 AM | By

‘Future doctors, soldiers, journalists:’ The federal Dream Act returns

Photo by Leslie Berestein Rojas/KPCC

A homemade poster in a makeshift call center last year for student Dream Act supporters, December 2010

The Dream Act will soon be reintroduced in the Senate, though no date has been set for when it will brought to the floor. Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin of Illinois and other prominent Senate Democrats announced their plans this morning to bring back the long-lived immigration bill, which passed the House last December but failed in the Senate.

The proposed legislation, versions of which have been circulating for a decade, would grant conditional legal status to certain undocumented young people who were brought to this country as minors, so long as they attend college or enlist in the military.

“These young people were brought to the United States as children,” Durbin said. “They grew up in this country…they can be our future doctors, soldiers, journalists, and even United States senators.”

It’s still unclear how this version of the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act will differ from previous versions. According to Durbin’s office, the basic requirements for eligibility are similar to those in the bill last voted on. Applicants will need to:

  • Have come to the U.S. as children (15 or under)
  • Be long-term U.S. residents (continuous physical presence for at least five years)
  • Have “good moral character”
  • Have graduated from high school or obtained a GED
  • Have completed two years of college or military service in good standing

Late last year, the bill was retooled to tighten several provisions, including a lowered age cutoff for applicants.

Durbin will be the lead sponsor of the bill, as he has been for previous versions. He was joined in the press conference by Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, who touted potential economic and national security benefits. Reid and others stressed the military aspect of the bill, which has been embraced by Department of Defense leaders as a recruiting tool. Even among some supporters, it remains a controversial provision.

A national student movement surged last year before the last Dream Act vote. It has continued to grow as undocumented students and graduates have taken to “coming out” with their immigration status as a political act, something that began as a strategy for putting names and faces to those who would be affected.

This morning’s press conference was broadcast online via live video feed. The reaction on Twitter from young proponents who watched it was upbeat, but tempered with skepticism.

One person tweeted:

reporter asked about how #dreamactivists are feeling…after 10 years of fighting for #dreamact its hard to have #hope

Another replied:

It’s been around for 10 years for a reason. Hope is the last thing we should lose. Justice will be done. #DREAMAct

FILED UNDER: Politics/Justice, Dream Act, Sen. Dick Durbin, Sen. Harry Reid
December 16, 2010 | 6:03 PM | By

Dream Act: A possible vote on Saturday

Photo by Leslie Berestein Rojas/KPCC

A student's bold statement, December 8, 2010

Talking Points Memo is reporting that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will file cloture tonight on two key measures for Senate Democrats, the repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” ban on gays serving openly in the military, and the Dream Act. From the update:

On the Senate floor just now, Majority Leader Harry Reid announced the Senate will vote as soon as Saturday on a bill repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. That puts it ahead of the START treaty, as proponents of repeal had requested.

Reid is also filing cloture on the DREAM Act. That means both bills should come up for a procedural vote on Saturday. The vote on the DREAM Act will come first, followed by the vote on DADT.

The cloture vote to break the filibuster on the DREAM Act is expected to fail. Next will come a cloture vote on DADT. If Reid has 60 votes for cloture vote on DADT, the vote on the actual bill will likely come Sunday.

“We’ve got to move this all along,” Reid said from the floor.

The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act would give conditional legal status to qualifying undocumented youths who attend at least two years of college or join the military, provided they arrived here under age 16 and meet several other strict criteria. Last week, one day after the House approved the bill, the Senate voted to table its version and vote on the House-approved measure.

Dream Act supporters around the country, among them many undocumented college students and graduates, have engaged in a massive effort to call legislators for their support. The measure still lacks the necessary Republican backing to make it through the Senate.

FILED UNDER: Health/Education, Politics/Justice, Dream Act, Sen. Harry Reid
December 8, 2010 | 3:51 PM | By

Students wait as Senate Dream Act vote delayed until tomorrow, but House still votes tonight

Photo by Leslie Berestein Rojas/KPCC

A homemade poster on the wall of the UCLA Downtown Labor Center, where about two dozen student activists are calling legislators and awaiting a vote on the Dream Act, December 8, 2010

The Senate won’t be voting on the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act now until tomorrow, according to a spokesman from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s office. Meanwhile, the House continues to discuss the bill, with a vote still expected tonight.

For the college students and graduates who have been calling legislators all day from a makeshift call center in downtown Los Angeles, some since 6 a.m., waiting another day for the Senate to vote means another early morning. But those still around this afternoon at the UCLA Downtown Labor Center were unfazed, hoping the extra time might work in their favor. While the bill stands a chance of passing in the House, its prospects appear dim in the Senate, where more Republican votes are needed for cloture.

“Compromise needs to be realized,” said Matias Ramos, 24, an undocumented UCLA graduate who now lives in Washington, D.C., where he works for a small Dream Act advocacy group. “That is the silver lining, that there may be a compromise.”

The Senate is now expected to vote on the measure in the morning. The Dream Act would grant conditional legal status to qualifying undocumented youths who either attend college or join the military, and who arrived in the United States before age 16.

FILED UNDER: Health/Education, Politics/Justice, Dream Act, Los Angeles County, Sen. Harry Reid, UCLA
December 2, 2010 | 12:27 PM | By

DREAM Act: Movement in the House

Update: A pending House vote on the DREAM Act has been put off awaiting the results of a budget report. Frank Sharry of America’s Voice, which is monitoring the bill, said this afternoon that a floor vote is now expected mid-week.

Meanwhile, Senate leadership has held off on filing cloture tonight as tentatively planned. A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said that House and Senate leadership are working together to set a vote agenda, and that a vote is expected next week.

Photo by Leslie Berestein Rojas/KPCC

A sign at a DREAM Act rally in Los Angeles last summer

While the Senate has yet to move on the DREAM Act, a proposed federal measure that would grant conditional legal status to undocumented youths who attend college or join the military, the House of Representatives could be voting on it as early as tomorrow.

Frank Sharry, executive director of the Washington, D.C. immigration advocacy group America’s Voice, which is closely following the bill, confirmed that House leadership is moving toward a possible Friday vote.

“There is about a 75 percent chance it is going to happen tomorrow,” Sharry said. A House Rules Committee meeting on the measure is expected to take place this afternoon, he said.

The version of the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act that the House would be voting on is the same introduced earlier this week by Senate leadership, Sharry said. Among the things the streamlined, more restrictive measure does is lower the cutoff age for eligibility and extend the period of conditional legal status. Applicants must now be under 30, as opposed to under 35, and the conditional residency period was extended from six years to 10.

A Senate vote is expected soon also. Jose Parra, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, said there are tentative plans to file cloture tonight, setting up a vote for early next week.

FILED UNDER: Health/Education, Politics/Justice, Dream Act, Sen. Harry Reid
December 1, 2010 | 10:32 AM | By

A streamlined DREAM Act moves forward

Photo by Leslie Berestein Rojas/KPCC

DREAM Act supporters at a Los Angeles rally in September, after a defense bill carrying the measure failed to win enough votes in the Senate. It was later reintroduced as a stand-alone bill.

The American Immigration Lawyers Association sent a notice to its members this morning with details of a tighter, more restrictive version of the DREAM Act introduced in the Senate last night.

From the notice, which has now been posted on the AILA website:

Late last night, Majority Leader Reid (D-NV) filed a new version of the DREAM Act (S. 3992) with the aim of attracting broader support for DREAM to get the requisite 60 votes to pass the Senate. With the filing of this new bill, the anticipated date for bringing DREAM to a vote will be delayed. The earliest Reid could file a cloture motion on the new bill would be this coming Thursday. After waiting out the requisite 30 hours post-cloture, it could “ripen” over the weekend, and effectively come up for a vote on Monday at the earliest.

The new version addresses many of the concerns raised by Republicans and tightens the restrictions on eligibility in several respects. Among other changes, the new version does the following:

Excludes from eligibility those with certain criminal convictions, such as for offenses punishable by a maximum term of more than 1 year (felony) or 3 misdemeanors
Requires all applicants to provide their biometric data to DHS, to submit to background checks and medical examination, and to register for military selective service
Requires applicants to pay all taxes
Sets the cut-off age to those who are less than 30 years-old on the date of enactment
Provides a “safe harbor” from removal only to those applicants who present a prima facie case of eligibility
Extends the good moral character requirement back to the date the alien entered the United States rather than the date of enactment of DREAM
Expands the applicable grounds of inadmissibility to include the health-related, public charge, smuggling, draft dodging, and unlawful voting grounds
Expands the applicable grounds of deportability to include public charge, unlawful voting, and marriage fraud grounds
Excludes those who participated in persecution
Clarifies that no one can apply before 1 year after enactment
Requires applicants to demonstrate eligibility by a preponderance of the evidence
Eliminates repeal of the in-state tuition ban
Defines institution of higher education to include only U.S.-based programs
Requires those who subsequently apply for adjustment to meet the English language and civics requirements typically required for naturalization
Expands the circumstances where disclosure of confidential information about DREAM applicants is required for homeland security or national security purposes
Creates conditional nonimmigrant status for 10 years, followed by 3 years of LPR status prior to application for naturalization

This version of the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act is considerably tighter than the most recent one, which among other things set the cutoff age for DREAM Act beneficiaries at 35. The changes would reduce the number of young people able to obtain legal permanent status through the measure, most recently estimated at 825,000 by the Migration Policy Institute.

Reid said yesterday that he planned to push a test vote in the Senate this week.

FILED UNDER: Health/Education, Politics/Justice, American Immigration Lawyers Association, Dream Act, Sen. Harry Reid
November 29, 2010 | 3:07 PM | By

A DREAM Act vote is coming, but when?

Photo courtesy of Cyndi Bendezu

Student protesters at a DREAM Act "die-in" in downtown Los Angeles, November 17, 2010

Speculation that the U.S. House of Representatives might take up the DREAM Act early this week – even as early as today, as some outlets had reported – turned out to be a bit premature.

The earliest date now being discussed for a possible House vote on the Development, Relief and Education of Alien Minors (DREAM) Act is this coming Thursday, said Frank Sharry, executive director of the Washington, D.C. immigration advocacy group America’s Voice, which has been following the proposed legislation closely.

It’s also likely that a House vote could take longer, Sharry said in a phone interview today. A blurb two weeks ago on CapitolWirePR cited New York Democratic Rep. Nydia Velasquez as saying that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had announced a tentative vote date of Nov. 29.

That date was a misquote, Sharry said. However, the hope of advocates is still that the House will vote on the measure first, he said, as this could help pave the way for success in the Senate. While there still no set date for a Senate vote, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has promised to take up the measure in the lame duck session. The DREAM Act would provide access to legal status for qualifying young people who attend college or enlist in the military.

Earlier this year, Reid attached the measure to a defense spending fill that failed to win enough votes in September. Shortly afterward, the DREAM Act was re-introduced as a stand-alone bill.

Meanwhile, as the 111th Congress enters its final few weeks, the DREAM Act is competing with last-minute legislation for attention from lawmakers. Politico reported today that these critical bills include “a resolution to keep the government funded, an extension of Bush-era tax cuts and the ratification of a new nuclear-weapons treaty with Russia.”

The promise of an upcoming vote has spurred a series of rallies, sit-ins and other events around the country in recent weeks.

FILED UNDER: Health/Education, Politics/Justice, Dream Act, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Harry Reid
November 17, 2010 | 5:03 PM | By

Quote of the moment: The Reid DREAM Act tweet

“I will move the DREAM Act as a standalone bill in the lame duck. It’s good for the economy & Pentagon says good for natl security.”

- A tweet from @SenatorReid, posted this afternoon

The tweet came from a verified account of the office of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in Nevada. The advocacy group America’s Voice has posted on its website that a Senate vote on the DREAM Act, proposed legislation that would create a path to legal status for undocumented youths who attend college or join the military, is likely to occur after the Thanksgiving break.

A short blurb on the CapitolWirePR site yesterday afternoon noted that during a speech before Latino political leaders yesterday, New York Democratic Rep. Nydia Velasquez announced that House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi had announced a tentative vote date of Nov. 29.

Earlier this year, Reid attached the measure to a defense spending fill that failed to win enough votes in September. Shortly afterward, the Development, Relief and Education of Alien Minors (or DREAM) Act was re-introduced as a stand-alone bill.

The proposed legislation has the support of both the Pentagon and the Obama administration; Politico posted a readout from a meeting yesterday between Obama and three members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, where Obama reiterated his support for comprehensive immigration reform.

Versions of the DREAM Act have come and gone for close to a decade, and speculation is that its chances of making it through Congress are slim. Still, the measure has led to unprecedented activism this year, especially from college students who have participated in rallies, sit-ins and hunger strikes. Today a “die-in” protest was held in downtown Los Angeles, while military hopefuls camped out at Sen. John McCain’s office in Washington, D.C.

FILED UNDER: Health/Education, Politics/Justice, Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Dream Act, Sen. Harry Reid, Twitter