WASHINGTON – A congressional hearing on Tuesday breathed new life into the decade-old and oft-thwarted effort to pass the proposed DREAM Act, but Democratic leaders concede there is no clear path to enactment and that one of the main obstacles is lack of Republican support.
Still, proponents who attended the first Senate hearing on the proposed legislation say they were heartened by the hearing itself and particularly encouraged by the appearance and testimony of three top Obama administration officials—including two Cabinet members—who all expressed support for the DREAM Act.
“Today is really important because one of the reasons why people oppose the DREAM Act is we’ve never had an official hearing,” said Jose Luis Marantes, a management consultant with United We Dream, a national network that pushes for legal status for immigrants. “It’s an important step in really taking the DREAM Act as a serious solution for immigration reform.”
At the same time, Democratic lawmakers concede that passage of the DREAM Act is still an uncertainty.
“We don’t have it yet,” said U.S. Senator and Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin, D-Ill., in reference to Republican support.
Asked during a post-hearing news conference for insight on the next formal steps and how the Democratic Party would go about winning passage of the law, Durbin said, “I’m going to be very careful about presenting the floor strategy on this. I don’t know what it might be.”
As proposed, the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act would give the children of undocumented immigrants who meet certain criteria a shot at permanent residency in the United States.
