Republicans once more turned their backs on the Hispanic Community and in an incredibly foolish twist on Saturday, voted to end debate on the DREAM Act, preventing hundreds of thousands of young illegal immigrants from getting on a path to legal status, if they enrolled in college or the U.S. military.
While the U.S. House of Representatives passed the DREAM Act last week, making difficult concessions to address other member’s concerns, including presenting DREAM as stand-alone legislation, the Senate voted 55 to 41, five votes shy of moving the bill forward.
“It is disappointing that common sense did not prevail today”, President Obama said in a statement. “But my administration will not give up on the DREAM Act, or on the important business of fixing our broken immigration system. The American people deserve a serious debate on immigration, and it’s time to take the polarizing rhetoric off our national stage.”
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office recently reported that the DREAM Act would cut the budget deficit by $2.2 billion over the next years. It is expected to have a positive impact on economic competitiveness, military readiness and law enforcement efforts.
The Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA), in a statement said that, Senators who opposed the DREAM Act will be held accountable by the Hispanic Community for their failure to provide a limited but critical opportunity for those wishing to attend higher education or serve in the U.S. military.
