[ilbegone]

Immigrant hopes for Dream Act passage face tough odds in lame-duck Congress

By John Lantigua, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Sunday, Nov. 28, 2010

Manuel Guerra of Indiantown, who has lived in Florida more than 10 years, learned last week that he had lost his case before U.S. immigration authorities and may be deported to his native Mexico.

Guerra, 26, knew he might lose his appeal and has been pinning his hopes on Congress passing legislation called the Dream Act.

That bill would allow undocumented immigrants, 35 and younger, who were brought into the U.S. before age 16 and have finished high school, to earn the right to stay by serving in the military or attending college for two years. Guerra would qualify.

"At this point my only hope is to get the Dream Act passed," Guerra wrote in an e-mail .

The bill is scheduled to go before the lame-duck session in the U.S. House today, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has said he will bring it up for a vote in December.

A Republican majority is set to take over the House in January, and many of those legislators promised voters they would be hard on illegal immigrants. Supporters see the next two months as their last chance, for some time, to pass the legislation.

Those advocates say individuals covered by the Dream Act should not be punished for the actions of parents or other relatives who brought them to the U.S. illegally and that they should be able to stay in the country where they have been educated.

The Dream Act, which stands for Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, failed in Congress in September, when it was attached to a Defense Department authorization bill. Military leaders support the measure because it would increase their recruitment pool.

Some in Congress saw that as an attempt to sneak the legislation through on the back of a larger bill. Not one Republican senator voted for it. This time it is being presented as a stand-alone bill.

Guerra, who is part of Students Working for Equal Rights, a national group working for passage, says he is going to Washington to lobby GOP members of Congress. He visited the office of Sen. George LeMieux, R-Fla., in September.

"I will be visiting again Sen. George LeMieux and my congressman, Thomas Rooney, who oppose amnesty," Guerra said.

Rooney's office issued a statement Wednesday saying he was still opposed.

"Immigration is fundamentally a national security issue, which is why any immigration reform must secure our borders, uphold the law and reward those who follow the rules," it said. "Passing the Dream Act would provide another incentive for individuals to come here illegally."

"While I do not support the Dream Act," said Rooney, R-Tequesta, "I would be willing to consider a stand-alone bill that would grant legal residence status to anyone who puts on the uniform and serves in the U.S. military."

Despite Rooney's position, supporters say they have the votes they need in the House, including those of two South Florida Republicans, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Lincoln Diaz-Balart, both of Miami.

Senate passage will be much more difficult. LeMieux said before the last vote that he opposed the bill because he was afraid it would lead more undocumented individuals to enter the country illegally. Despite many pleas from Dream Act supporters, he has announced no change in that position.

Only one Republican senator, Richard Lugar of Indiana, has said he will vote for it this time.

Supporters of the bill are trying to sway several others, including Bob Bennett of Utah, Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine, Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, George Voinovich of Ohio and Scott Brown of Massachusetts.

Some of them, like LeMieux, are lame ducks - they won't be returning in January - and are considered possible converts because they won't have to worry about a backlash from conservative voters.

But the supporters will need several of those of those votes, and most political observers don't think that will happen. On Sunday, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said the Dream Act was "going nowhere."

Democrats control the Senate 58-42, but it takes only 40 votes against the bill to filibuster and block it. And the supporters can't rely on all the Democrats. Ben Nelson of Nebraska, for one, opposes it.

He said he would not support the Dream Act until it is "part of an overall comprehensive solution to immigration once we have the border secured, not until then."

President Obama supports the bill .

"This is about accountability, not amnesty," said a White House official who has been closely monitoring the Dream Act.

"It will take a few Republicans to get this through Congress, but they have to realize we can't keep kicking the can down the road. They have to help govern and to solve some of the problems."