Donate Now: Aid to Latino Families of Baltimore Bridge Tragedy Donate Here
* 100% of the proceeds will go directly to the families impacted by the devastating Baltimore bridge collapse.

LULAC Applauds Movement on Dream Act

September 14, 2010

Contact: Lizette J. Olmos, 202-833-6130 ext 16

Dream Act is a good step forward

Washington, DC – The League of United Latin American Citizens applauds Senator Harry Reid (D-Nev.) for attaching the DREAM Act to the defense authorization bill.

“It is a great strategy to attach the DREAM Act to the defense authorization bill. This is the first of many positive steps to take,” said LULAC National President Margaret Moran. “I think it is really important that we move forward on this legislation,” Moran said.

Senator Harry Reid said today that the legislation known as the DREAM Act is long overdue. The act allows young people who attend college or join the military to become legal U.S. residents.

The Senator said he will try to pass a bill legalizing certain undocumented immigrants if they attend college for two years or join the military.

Reid will offer the DREAM Act as an amendment next week to the Defense Department authorization bill.

The DREAM Act provides a path to citizenship for young undocumented immigrants if they were in the country before age 16 and have been present for five years before enactment of the law.

In an interview with La Opinion, President Barack Obama reiterated his support of the DREAM Act and comprehensive immigration reform. “I just don’t want anybody to think that if we somehow just do the DREAM Act, that that solves the problem,” Obama said. “We’ve got a bigger problem that we have to solve. We still need comprehensive immigration reform. The DREAM Act can be an important part of that, and, as I said, I’m a big supporter of that. But I also want to make sure that we don’t somehow give up on the bigger strategy.”

“Young people who came here as children with their parents should be allowed to contribute to the only country they have known by attending college, joining the military and continuing to be productive members of society,” said Moran.

The League of United Latin American Citizens, the largest and oldest Hispanic membership organization in the country, advances the economic conditions, educational attainment, political influence, housing, health and civil rights of Hispanic Americans through community-based programs operating through 880 LULAC councils nationwide.

###