LULAC will Continue Fighting for DREAM Act and Comprehensive Immigration Reform

September 22, 2010

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

Washington, D.C. – By a vote of 56 to 43, the Senate failed to invoke cloture Tuesday on the National Defense and Authorization Act, blocking consideration of the DREAM Act.

“The time to enact the DREAM Act as well as a Comprehensive Immigration Reform is now,” said LULAC National President Margaret Moran. “The military, immigrant families and Americans from around the country are pulling for the DREAM Act. Passing this important piece of legislation is critical to get our nation moving forward and we cannot afford to wait any longer.”

All Republican Senators and two Democratic Senators failed to support this measure. Arkansas Democratic Sens. Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor voted with Republicans. Majority Leader Harry Reid also voted to block the bill in a procedural move that allows the defense bill to be revived later.

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.

“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.

Both Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) and Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) said they would support the DREAM Act as a stand-alone bill.

LULAC will continue meeting with Senators on both sides of the aisle to get these important pieces of legislation passed.

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.

###