11/30/10 This morning, at the National Immigration Forum, I spent time with 20 of the most impressive young people I've ever met. They are DREAMers from all over the country who are here, in Washington, DC, to look Senators in the eye and ask them to support the DREAM Act.
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11/29/10 With both chambers of Congress planning to take up the DREAM Act this year, students who would benefit from the legislation are joining with labor and immigration reform advocates to announce the details of a six-figure ad buy in Spanish and English media. The ad campaign targets senators whose votes could be crucial to passing the DREAM Act.
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11/29/10 Cecilia Munoz, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Intergovernmental Affairs, is scheduled to host a live, streaming online discussion on the DREAM Act beginning at around 3:00 pm EST on Monday, November 29.
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11/29/10 Did you slip into a turkey coma last week? This should get you up to speed, with a vote on the DREAM Act rapidly approaching. Prominent conservative voices are increasingly speaking up for the DREAM Act, even as the popular measure continues to weather attacks by certain hardline Senators. This new drumbeat of conservative voices further demonstrates the DREAM Act's bipartisan nature and its importance for future U.S. competitiveness.
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11/29/10 The Spanish-language media, both print and online, devote significant coverage to the imminent debate over the DREAM Act in the U.S. Senate over the coming days.
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11/29/10 Over the weekend, one of Illinois' most respected Republican voices, former Governor Jim Edgar, penned an op-ed in support of the DREAM Act. Also, check out the new video project called "Illinois Dreams Together," in which participants around the state send a video message to Illinois Senator Mark Kirk congratulating him and asking for his support on the DREAM Act.
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11/25/10 Check out this great Turkey-day post from the folks at Immigration Impact, about how to approach the topic of immigration reform with loved ones, friends, and your crazy uncle Joey (everyone's got one).
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11/24/10 Today, Media Matters has more on Sessions' spurious DREAM Act memo.
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11/23/10 There is a wide gulf between extremists like Sessions and sensible Americans who recognize the importance of DREAM. In fact, 70% of the American people support the DREAM Act. In truth, the DREAM Act is a narrowly-tailored and traditionally bipartisan piece of legislation that ensures that only those with strong moral character qualify. As such, it would strengthen the military, bolster future economic competitiveness, and offer American taxpayers a return on their investment in hard-working immigrant kids who want to give back to the nation they love and call home.
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11/23/10 There are thousands of patriotic youth who graduate from high school each year with dreams of serving the only country they know, but are ineligible to enlist in the U.S. armed forces because they lack legal immigration status. On a conference call with reporters this Tuesday, U.S. military veterans argued passionately that the DREAM Act would strengthen the U.S. military and that Congress should pass it immediately.
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11/23/10 The Spanish-language press reports that as the beginning of the lame-duck session of Congress approaches, both supporters and opponents of the DREAM Act are already fired up in anticipation of a debate and vote on the bill. Meanwhile, Jorge Ramos has created a new scholarship fund for immigrant students--including DREAMers--and California, New Jersey, and New York kept the dubious distinction in 2009 of having the most hate crimes in the country, although there were fewer incidents in those states, and nationally, in 2009 than 2008.
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11/22/10 Cesar Vargas was brought by his parents to the United States from Mexico when he was 5 years old. He grew up in New York, graduated from high school, completed college, and is in his final year of law school. Now, he has one thing holding him back from his dream of joining the military: the fact that he's undocumented.
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11/22/10 Can the Republicans write off Latinos and take back the White House in 2012? The answer is no. Can they stand united in opposition to the popular DREAM Act in the lame duck session of Congress and block comprehensive immigration reform in the next Congress and win back Latinos? The answer is no.
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11/19/10 In a town where political hypocrisy is in no short supply, Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) manages to take things to another level. In his latest instance of "getting to no" on immigration, Cornyn opposes taking up the DREAM Act because, he says, Americans want Congress to focus on border security only. Cornyn accused Democrats of playing politics by bringing up the legislation.
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11/18/10 This is the closest we've come to providing a pathway to citizenship for nearly a million young people who are American in all but paperwork. Still, our most important work is just ahead. In order to make this happen, we're going to need to win several Republican votes and convince shaky Democrats in both the House and the Senate to vote the right way.
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11/18/10 One day after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced he will bring the DREAM Act to the floor as a stand-alone measure during the lame-duck session, DREAM-eligible youth joined civil rights and faith leaders at the National Press Club to call on Congress to pass the DREAM Act before the end of 2010. Speakers highlighted the importance of passing the DREAM Act and echoed the widespread support for the bill.
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11/17/10 According to the Senator's office, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid now plans to bring the Dream Act up for a vote as a stand-alone measure after Thanksgiving recess.
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11/17/10 As we reported yesterday, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Rep. Nydia Velasquez (D-NY) and Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) met with President Obama to talk about the chances of passing immigration reform or the DREAM Act during Congress's lame-duck session. Following the meeting last night on the Ed Schultz Show, Gutierrez reported that he recommended to the President to consider passing the DREAM Act as down-payment towards comprehensive immigration reform.
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11/17/10 The Spanish-language press reports on yesterday's White House meeting between President Barack Obama and Hispanic Democratic legislators Senator Bob Menéndez (D-NJ), Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-IL) and Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) to discuss moving forward on immigration bills during the remainder of the 111th Congress. After the meeting, the White House declared that both the President and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) agree that Congress should approve the DREAM Act before the end of the session. Various outlets report that the bill will come to a vote in the House of Representatives after Thanksgiving.
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11/16/10 Here's a readout from the President's meeting with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus today, in which a strong consensus formed that Congress should approve the targeted, bipartisan DREAM Act before adjourning.
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11/16/10 As the lame-duck session of Congress approaches, the movement to pass the DREAM Act before the new Congress is seated in January gains steam. As an editorial from La Opinión and columns from Jorge Ramos and Maribel Hastings all call for the bill to pass, the eyes of the Latino media are on Washington--where Republican Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart and Democratic Senator Bob Menéndez have announced their support for the bill, and Menéndez will meet with the President and other key Latino members of Congress at the White House today to discuss strategy on immigration legislation.
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11/16/10 Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Rep. Nydia Velasquez (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) will meet with President Barack Obama Tuesday afternoon to talk about the chances of getting comprehensive immigration reform or the DREAM Act passed in the lame duck session, a House Democratic source said.
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11/15/10 Tonight, at 10:00 pm EST, Lawrence O'Donnell will host an MSNBC Special Town Hall Event on "Immigration and Latino America" with the Executive Director of Voto Latino, Maria Teresa Kumar.
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11/15/10 A mounting array of evidence shows that the 2010 national exit poll failed to capture a representative sample of Latino voters and, resultantly, misstated levels of Latino support for candidates. However, research by Latino Decisions provides a more accurate picture of Latino voter sentiment in the 2010 elections. When it comes to Latino voters in 2010, the national exit polls should be marked with a big asterisk, and the Latino Decisions figures used more reliably.
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11/15/10 That's right, key House Republicans want a vote on the common-sense DREAM Act without further delay. Since 2002, the DREAM Act has been a bipartisan measure with bipartisan support, and we are glad to see Republican leaders on the measure again speaking up for its passage today.
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11/12/10 A reasonable conservative approach to immigration -- that's not something we've heard much about recently, what with all the extreme campaign rhetoric and state laws. But this week, a conservative coalition in Utah gives immigration reform advocates a reason to hope that a rational dialogue on this contentious issue is possible.
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11/11/10 House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wants to push for a vote during the lame-duck session on a bill that would legalize young, undocumented immigrants if they attend college or serve in the military, according to Democratic sources familiar with a leadership conference call Wednesday.
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