Good news for America. Good news perhaps for the Dems especially if Obama has the stones and political smarts to fight for something. Bad news for the GOP. Ram it through the Senate with 51 votes. Watch the GOP vote in near lock step against these immigrant voters to be. Watch the GOP lose Texas and be nearly permanently branded as against all non-white constituencies. Perhaps some audacity from Obama? Maybe he can understand this issue as worth fighting for? Perhaps he has been embarassed enough to fight for something? ************ House passes Dream Act; bill faces tougher fight in Senate By Matt O'Brien Contra Costa Times Posted: 12/08/2010 11:54:43 AM PST Updated: 12/08/2010 10:42:37 PM PST Click photo to enlarge Education Secretary Arne Duncan, second from right, and Homeland Security... (Harry Hamburg)«12345»Related Stories Dec 1: Document: D.R.E.A.M. ActThe House of Representatives voted to pass the Dream Act on Wednesday night, catapulting to the Senate a bill that would offer a path to citizenship for hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants who came to the country when they were children. "This is about a commitment to our future," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, speaking after more than an hour of emotional debate between lawmakers Wednesday night. "It's about a recognition of what these young people can mean for our country." The Dream Act would give conditional green cards to undocumented immigrants if they graduate from high school and pursue a college education or military service. After a 10-year waiting period, they could obtain permanent residency if they met all the requirements, and they could eventually apply for citizenship. The 216-198 vote fell largely on partisan lines, though 38 Democrats voted against it and eight Republicans voted for it. UC Berkeley student Ju Hong was effusive as he watched the proceedings on C-Span at a coffee shop near campus. "I don't know how to describe it. I'm really excited about it right now," said Hong, whose mother brought him to the United States from South Korea when he was 11. "It's going to be really tough in the Senate, but now that the House has passed it, it's going to bring a little more pressure." The Senate vote could happen as early as Friday morning, but the bill faces a bigger hurdle there -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Advertisement -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- because it must get a filibuster-proof majority of at least 60 votes. Hong, a political science major, left a final exam study session with nervous excitement, trying to study but aware that the congressional proceedings will have a huge impact on his life. "The Dream Act is the only solution for me right now," Hong said. "This is a really critical week. If the Dream Act fails this year, it's going to be really tough the following year and the following year." The 21-year-old played varsity basketball at Alameda High School, worked under the table at a local restaurant to raise money for college and became a high honors student and student body president at Laney College before transferring to UC Berkeley. When he graduates, however, he will be unable to get a professional job, and faces a constant risk of deportation, he said. Beneficiaries would have to be under 30 years old to qualify and must have arrived in the country before their 16th birthday. According to the House version voted on Wednesday, they will also pay $2,525 in fees for the privilege of legal residency -- $525 to apply, and $2,000 five years later to extend the conditional visa. California is estimated to have about a quarter of the more than 800,000 people who could benefit from the act. "It's the right thing to do for these young people," said Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, speaking on the House floor earlier in the day. All of California's House Democrats voted for the bill, with the exception of Adam Schiff, D-Burbank, who did not vote at all. Most California Republicans voted against it. Two Republicans, Brian Bilbray, R-Solana Beach, and George Radanovich, R-Mariposa, also did not vote. "Shall we further punish these 800,000 young people with deportation or by keeping them in legal limbo, or should we allow these highly motivated youth to attend colleges and become productive members of our society?" Lee asked fellow lawmakers. "The answer should really be quite obvious." Republicans complained that House Democrats were trying to ram the bill through in the lame-duck session, not giving lawmakers enough time to review changes and amendments that had been made in recent days. Most of the amendments made the bill more strict. Many also warned that the bill would invite fraudulent applications and would encourage more illegal immigration. Many of the House Republicans who condemned the bill most forcefully Wednesday referred to the act as a nightmare, not a dream, and argued it would unfairly harm U.S. citizens who would face more competition from newly legalized immigrants in college admissions, federal loans, work-study programs and the workforce. "It would put them ahead of most American citizens and legal immigrants," said Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Costa Mesa, who called the bill an "affirmative action amnesty nightmare" that would particularly hurt non-minorities. Of the handful of Republicans who crossed the aisle to vote with the Democratic majority, the most vocal supporters were three Cuban-American lawmakers from Florida. "We are a meritocracy," said Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, R-Florida, one of the bill's cosponsors who urged fellow Republicans to vote for it. The White House spent weeks publicly touting the bill as something that would boost the economy, academic achievement and military recruitment. Giving undocumented immigrants the right to work through the Dream Act would reduce the deficit by between $1.4 billion and $2.2 billion over 10 years because of income and social insurance taxes, according to reports by the Congressional Budget Office that came out days before the vote. In the following decade, however, the bill could increase the deficit by more than $5 billion as immigrants become eligible for social services, according to the same reports. The Dream Act once had the support of many Republican lawmakers, but most now oppose it as a mass amnesty, as do some Democrats. That means an uphill fight in the Senate, where the bill would need the support of some Republicans and most of the 58 Democrats. http://www.mercurynews.com/portal/news/ci_16807996?source=rss&nclick_check=1&_loopback=1
No surprise here. No problem either. This BS won't make it through. Maybe some Mexicans in San Antonio will only eat Snickers bars for a couple of days...but this crap will not pass.
What about the bill do you like specifically? I'm sympathetic for the youth who entered our country illegally probably not of their own will, but promoting this, would be in affect promoting a circumvention of the current system in place. I'm very open to them going through the proper channels and gaining green cards and citizenship after they return to their country of origin. Possibly even making it easier for them if they weren't at fault when they originally entered and based on them being children, I'm supposing that's the case. I know of plenty of people who have done it successfully, but it's definitely not the easiest thing in the world to do because there's a long list of individuals that would love to be here in the US. If you give people a loophole to have their children become citizens without going through the proper channels, people will definitely take advantage of it. I also think it's incredible that illegal residents have the ability to utilize quite a few of our publicly funded services including schools and health care. The following is amazing to me and leads to me ponder less and less why California has become bankrupt. "Illegal immigrants who graduated from state high schools can continue to receive lower, in-state tuition at California's public universities and colleges, the California Supreme Court decided unanimously Monday. The ruling is the first of its kind in the nation. California is one of 10 states that permit undocumented immigrants to receive in-state tuition, which can save them $23,000 a year at the University of California." http://articles.latimes.com/2010/nov/15/local/la-me-illegal-students-20101116
I was just joking. The American/Mexican border should be destroyed JUST LIKE THE BERLIN WALL!!!!!!!11
I don't care if you crossed yourself or were born here of illegal immigrants: If you simply refuse to GTFO: I TRULY HOPE YOU DROP DEAD. ...in fact, I'm willing to help.
That so far the Tea Party elected already ask for 1 billion in Earmarks not even 1 month into their seats. Control our spending alright.
No need to respond to esthebahn... He is conserving his conservative conservatism at a conservation for conservatories and will not respond to liberals.
No to "Dream Act"!!! Illegals need to learn how to get a work visa and apply for citizenship like the old days. How are you going try to come here and change laws when this isn't even your country.
Ignoring weslinder's point, it's because your son doesn't live in-state. Because of that, your son is less likely to stay in California after he completes school and thus provides less value to the state. Yes. It's not difficult to become a Mexican citizen and get all the benefits of it if your son would like to do that. They welcome Americans with open arms.
We have enough poor people, and don't need to import anymore of them. A willingness to work hard doesn't matter if there are no jobs available. And what you call cosmopolitan, I call broke, crime ridden, and overcrowded. And who in their right mind wants Houston to turn into Mexico City, where pollution, massive crime, shanty towns, and Soylent Green levels of overcrowding exist? PS, save your name calling. I don't care.
