The DREAM Act (The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act) would provide a legal path to permanent residency for immigrant students who graduate from US high schools, are of good moral character, arrived in the US as children, and have been in the country continuously for at least five years prior to the bill’s enactment.
Tens of thousands of immigrant students a year graduate from American high schools and find themselves in a situation similar to Juan’s (including his brother Alex). Although the bill has strong bi-partisan support, its passage is by no means guaranteed and in the past, lawmakers have repeatedly rejected similar bills. The DREAM Act was re-introduced into this legislative session by Senator Durbin in the Senate and Representatives Berman and Ros-Lehtinen in the House in 2011.
