A consensus seems to be emerging across party lines that it is a good idea to protect young undocumented immigrants who have grown up in America. But while talk of a legislative breakthrough this year sounds nice, what Latino voters really want to see is action.
As Julia Preston of the New York Times today, DREAM-eligible youth have launched a campaign a campaign calling on President Obama to use his executive authority to provide administrative relief. And while there is some movement on the Republican side of the aisle in favor of legislation, there is also stagnation. Senator Marco Rubio is preparing to introduce a conservative version of the DREAM Act and Rep. David Rivera (R-FL) has introduced two bills aimed at protecting DREAM-eligible youth. However, these bills are unlikely to become law this year. Speaker Boehner (R-OH) has already dismissed the Rubio plan
This despite the fact that both the Rivera and yet-to-be-introduced Rubio bills are far narrower and stingier than the traditional DREAM Act. In contrast to DREAM, Rep. Rivera’s STARS Act covers far fewer people, restricting eligibility to those attending 4-year college and universities who are 19 or younger (or who are 21 years or younger but received “voluntary departure” status before age 19). Although the bill leaves out a large number of young people who came here as children and grew up in America, the STARS Act actually includes an eventual path to citizenship for the few who qualify – which is more than Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) has promised in regards to his still un-introduced but highly-publicized version.