DREAM Act

• “In Historic Move, Senators Durbin and Lugar Call on DHS to Protect Immigrant Youth”
  This news release from America’s Voice, a nonprofit that works to build public and political support for immigration reform, describes a bi-partisan effort to prevent the deportation of immigrant youth who would be eligible for the DREAM Act. According to Frank Sharry, Executive Director of America’s Voice, this initiative “is a significant new development in the ongoing immigration reform debate.  This is the first time a bipartisan duo of leading lawmakers has made such a request, and it is a harbinger of things to come….” Read more
   
• New Immigration Reform Bill Could Help Undocumented Students
  A Chronicle of Higher Education article discusses the recent legislation, introduced by Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez, Democrat of Illinois, that would create a path to legal residency and citizenship for some undocumented students. Mr. Gutierrez's bill, called the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America’s Security and Prosperity Act, includes some provisions from the original DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act), , but has expanded or changed some of the original DREAM Act provisions. This new bill adds employment as a pathway for high school students to gain permanent residency, while the original bill provides two years of college or military service as the only routes to permanent residency. Read More.
   
• "President Obama Links Immigration Overhaul in 2010 to G.O.P. Backing". This New York Times article assesses the political climate in Washington for an overhaul of the immigration system and discusses the bill being shaped by Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, and Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina. Meanwhile, young immigrants, including undocumented students, rallied in several cities for immigration reform Read more.
   
• “Struggling with the Status of Undocumented Students”
  States are unsure of what to do about the issue of undocumented students. This article, featured in The Community College Times, a publication of the American Association of Community Colleges, presents an overview of how some states address the issue and the potential impact of federal DREAM Act legislation. Also described are CCCIE’s initiatives to educate the public on the DREAM Act and the challenges community colleges face in meeting the educational needs of the immigrant population. Read more.
   
• AACC President Urges Congress to Revive the DREAM Act
  In a 2008 op-ed article for The Chronicle of Higher Education, AACC President and CEO Dr. George R. Boggs notes that passage of the DREAM Act would directly affect the nation’s economic competitiveness and urges college administrators, faculty members, and students to educate local business leaders about the importance of the DREAM Act in their communities. “While much of the business community supports comprehensive immigration reform and increases in the numbers of highly skilled foreign workers brought into the United States, it has remained largely silent on the DREAM Act,” according to Boggs. Read more.