House Passes DREAM Act by 216-198
The New York Times reports:
A bill to grant legal status to hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrant students passed the House of Representatives late Wednesday, giving President Obama an unexpected although largely symbolic victory in the final days of Democratic control of Congress on an issue he has called a top priority.
The bill, known as the Dream Act, passed the House by a vote of 216 to 198. But a vote in the Senate on opening debate on the bill was scheduled for Thursday, and the measure seemed likely to fail there.
Still, Democratic leaders celebrated the House vote, which gave them a triumph in the final days of the Congressional session before they yield the majority next year to Republicans. It also gave them something to show Hispanic voters, who strongly support the measure and could play a pivotal role in the 2012 presidential election.
The measure was supported by eight Republicans, including three Cuban-American representatives from South Florida, Lincoln and Mario Diaz-Balart and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. Thirty-eight Democrats voted against it.
Democrats supported it as a way to help young immigrants who were brought here illegally as children by their parents and have seen their lives stall after they graduate from high school because they lack legal status.
“They are American in everything but a piece of paper,” said Representative Luis V. Gutierrez, Democrat of Illinois, perhaps the bill’s most fervent champion.
Republicans said the bill was amnesty for lawbreakers that would lead to a new wave of illegal immigration. They objected to expedited procedures Democratic leaders used to bring it to a vote with only one day’s notice.
Lamar Smith, Republican of Texas, said the bill “encourages fraud and more illegal immigration on a massive scale.” He said the rush to a vote was “a desecration of the democratic process.”
The House passage drew cheers from illegal immigrant students, who have shown support in marches, sit-in protests and hunger strikes, even sending their blood to lawmakers.
