WASHINGTON — Two U.S. Senators called on President Donald J. Trump and their fellow lawmakers Thursday to support their bipartisan effort to win passage of the Dream Act.
The Senators introduced the bill anew Thursday after 16 years of stymied attempts to pass the legislation that would grant legal status to those brought to the United States illegally as children.
Durbin was joined by U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), who said President Trump could easily unite the Republican Party and opponents of illegal immigration to support the Dream Act.
The Dream Act would grant lawful permanent residence and ultimately citizenship to young people brought to the U.S. as children and who have been here at least four years and have not been convicted of a felony. They must also have graduated from high school or obtained a GED, entered college or the military, work for three years, and pay a “reasonable” application fee.
“Wouldn’t it be ironic if the man who started his campaign talking about illegal immigration in a very tough way would be the man who started the country on the path to solve the problem?” Graham said in reference to Trump. “This problem will not fix itself.”
Graham said he appreciates President Trump’s desire to boot “bad hombres” from the country but said it’s wrong to leave Dreamers in limbo when many of them came “out of the shadows” and identified themselves at the behest of the federal government.
