The Development Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act is a bipartisan piece of legislation first introduced on August 1st, 2011. It seeks to address the plight of undocumented students that came to the US as children and who have grown up as Americans in every sense of the word, except tin paper. This bill passed the House for the first time in December of 2010, but fell three votes short from the number required to pass in the Senate.
The latest version of the DREAM Act was introduced on May 11, 2011, in the Senate (S. 952) by Sen. Durbin (D-IL) and 32 other Democrats. In the House of Representatives the bill was introduces as H.R. 1842 by Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA) and other representatives.
Read full text of the Senate version of the DREAM Act here.
Read full text of the House version of the DREAM Act here.
REQUIREMENTS:
- Must have entered the United States before the age of 16.
- Must have been present in the United States for at least five consecutive years prior to enactment of the bill.
- Must have graduated from a United States high school, or have obtained a GED, or have been accepted into an institution of higher education (i.e. college/university)
- Must be between the ages of 12 and 35 at the time of application.
- Must have good moral character
The DREAM Act will provide a pathway to legalization – first temporary legal status, then eventual permanent residency and finally citizenship – if the student goes to college for at least two years or serves in the U.S military.