Senate Democrats have delayed a vote on the DREAM Act because the Republican minority is blocking consideration of the measure.
The bill, which the House passed Wednesday, would resolve the immigration status of young people raised and educated in this country, but whose parents entered the U.S. illegally.
But under Senate rules, the Democrats need 60 votes to bring the bill to a vote. The Democrats now will push for a vote next week, according to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's office.
The DREAM Act would give temporary legal status to those who arrived in the United States before age 16, have been in the country for five continuous years before the bill's passage, have graduated from a U.S. high school and have no criminal record. They would have to go to college or join the U.S. military. Only then could they get a green card within six years, which is the first step on a path to citizenship.
Opponents are wrong to call this an amnesty measure. The DREAM Act grants no one automatic citizenship. Getting conditional status is a limited, rigorous privilege, and not an entitlement.
The act passed the House by a 216-198 vote. Reps. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, and Dennis Cardoza, D-Merced, voted in favor of the DREAM Act and Reps. Devin Nunes, R-Visalia, and Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, voted against it. Rep. George Radanovich, R-Mariposa, did not vote.
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