Dream Act 2011
Where Dreams Come True!
Bringing Hope & Promise To Our Children -
The Future of America
Welcome to the Dream Act of 2011! Providing up-to-date information and resources on the new Congressional Bill to bring legalization to millions of immigrant children across America. This long-awaited immigration initiative has broad bi-partisan support and promises to finally bring our immigrant children "out of the shadows" to pursue thier hope and dreams, attend college, undertake military service and live the American Dream!
Remember that your support for this Bill is very important, so please click on this link to Contact your Congressional Representatives and express your support for the DREAM ACT of 2011!
Overview of the new DREAM Act of 2011
The original Bill, called the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act (The "DREAM Act") is a long anticipated Immigration Bill which was just introduced in the US Congress (both Senate and House) on March 26, 2009. This original legislation was proposed to provide millions of immigrant children who graduate from U.S. High Schools the opportunity to receive U.S. Residency (a "Green Card") after so many years of being left in the shadows by State and Federal laws. The new legislation will provide immigration benefits to those who arrived in the United States as children, before the age of 16 and who have been residing in the U.S. continuously for at least five years prior to the Bill being enacted into Law. The DREAM Act failed to pass in 2009 and even though Senator Reid brought it up to the floor twice: the first time, pre-midterm election 2010 where it died with a defense authorization bill; and the second, in December 2010, when it fell five votes short of passing. Recently, in 2011, Democtrats in both the House and Senate re-introduced the DREAM Act. Both Bills continue to await Congressional action. CLICK BELOW TO READ THE 2011 BILLS:
Click Below Links to Read Recent News About the new Dream Act Bill
The 2009 Bill had very generous provisiions, giving children who qualify the opportunity to "earn" Permanent Residency. This meant that students wouldl be issued temporary Residency for a period of six years, which is conditioned upon meeting certain educational or military requirements. Within the six year temporary Residency period, a qualified student must attend college, and earn at least a two year degree (AA), or serve in the U.S. Military for two years in order to maintain immigration benefits. Once the immigrant has met all of the conditions at the end of the 6-year conditional period, they will be granted Permanent Residency, which will lead to U.S. citizenship. However, if the student does not comply with either the college requirement or military service requirement, the temporary Residency will be taken away and student will be subjected to deportationHowever, the re-introduced Bills are more conservative, in line with the more restrictive Bill which died in the Senate last December 2010. The following are the main requirments for qualification: General Requirements:
Under the new DREAM Act, immigrants may qualify in part, by meeting the following requirements which have not been finalized by Congress:
- Must be between the ages of 12 and 30 at the time the Law is enacted
- Must have arrived in the United States before the age of 16
- Must have resided continuously in the United States for a least five (5) consecutive years since the date of their arrival
- Must have graduated from a U.S. High School, or obtained a General Education Diploma (GED)
- Must have "Good moral character" (no criminal convictions)
Current Immigration Laws Regarding Immigrant Children:
Under current immigtation regulations, children who immigrate to the United States from another country can only obtain permanent status through their parents and may not independently apply for Residency. Such children are allowed to attend and complete public education, but upon graduation, are not allowed to attend college in many States. Further, without proof of legal immigration status, such children are generally not issued Driver's Licenses, Social Security cards and cannot legally work. Background of the Dream Act pre2009:
Several different versions of the current Dream Act were introduced into Congress in 2001, 2005 and 2007, but never made it to passage. Much of the Dream Act text was also made part of several other failed immigration-related bills, including the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006 and the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 . The failure of these past immigration reform efforts was largely blamed on Republicans, who generally oppose immigration reform. However, in recent years, Senator McCain and other prominent Senate and House Republicans have signaled a shift by supporting such initiatives. The current Dream Act was re-introduced by both chambers of Congress on March 26 2009 in a bi-partisan effort to mend the injustice inflicted on millions of immigrant children, innocently brought to the United States by thier parents and in no way responsible for their current illegal immigration status. The current Dream Act Bill were introduced by Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Richard Lugar (R-IN),Representatives Howard Berman (D-CA) and Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL), and in the House, Representatives Lucile Roybal-Allard (D-CA), Devin Nunes (R-CA), Anh “Joseph” Cao (R-LA), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Jared Polis (D-CO), John Conyers (D-MI) and Zoe Lofgren (D-CA). Be sure to follow the Links on the toolbar for Recent News, Immigration Newsletter and valuable Resouces.
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