The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

Senate Vote: Access to Education: DREAM Act

In October 2007, the Senate considered the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act, known as the DREAM Act. Beneficiaries of the bill would be individuals who were brought into the country as children, too young to have had any control over the decision to enter the U.S. illegally.

The bill would provide a six-year path to legal status starting after high school graduation for individuals brought to the United States more than five years prior to enactment of the law.

To qualify for a green card, an applicant would have to demonstrate good moral character and within the six-year period either graduate from community college, complete two years toward a four-year degree, or serve at least two years in the U.S. military.

LCCR supported the bill because it would allow immigrants who worked hard and stayed in school the opportunity to continue their education or public service in the U.S. military.

Immigrants who came to the country as children and were raised here are extremely unlikely to leave the country that they know as their home. Rather than drive these people into the underground economy, the DREAM Act is a focused and practical way to ensure that they can fully contribute to American society by attaining an education or by serving in the military. 

While a majority of the Senate supported this common sense approach, opponents forced a cloture vote, which requires 60 votes to pass, successfully preventing the Senate from voting on final passage of the bill.

Result: The motion to invoke cloture fell short of the necessary 60 votes (52-44).

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