Privileges for illegals at stake in Senate vote

Door open for Reid to bring up 'Dream Act' proposal

World Net Daily:   December 14, 2010

By Jerome R. Corsi
© 2010 WorldNetDaily

Supporters of the DREAM Act continue to believe the House's approval of the bill by a 216-198 vote sets the stage for its passage by the Senate before the lame duck Congress adjourns at the end of the month.

After considerable maneuvering in the Senate last week, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is now free to bring up in the Senate the version of the DREAM Act passed last Wednesday in the House.

Reid and Sen. Dick Durbin, R- Ill., the Senate Democratic Party whip, said in a joint statement Thursday that they will work with House leaders to assure passage of the DREAM Act before the end of the current lame duck session of Congress.

"Only a massive reaction from the American people can stop the DREAM Act from passing the Senate before Christmas," William Gheen, head of Americans for Legal Immigration, told WND.

"Most Americans are not aware that the DREAM Act is close to passing at any moment," he said. "We are asking our activists to start climbing over the walls to rally talk radio and warn hosts that the hour is late, the situation is dire and only a massive reaction from the American public can stop Dream Amnesty from passing before Christmas."

Activists supporting the DREAM Act are also making calls for a public outcry to influence Congress before the end of December.

A torch rally pilgrimage that began 72 days ago in Mexico City at Mexico City's Basilica Guadalupe culminated Sunday at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City, with a group estimated at 5,000 greeting runners that had crossed 3,000 miles through nine Mexican states and 12 U.S. states to express their support for the DREAM Act.

The bill offers permanent legal status to illegal immigrants up to age 35 who arrived in the United States before age 16, provided they complete two years of college or two years of U.S. military service.

Steven Camarota, director of research at the Center for Immigration Studies, estimates more than 1 million illegal immigrants will eventually enroll in community colleges or state universities as a result of the DREAM Act.

Camarota anticipates that with the low income of most illegal immigrants, about 80 percent of the illegal immigrants attending institutions of higher learning under the DREAM Act would gravitate to community colleges and state universities.

"Given limited space and limited funding at community colleges and state universities, illegal immigrants will crowd out U.S. citizens and legal immigrants in the United States," Camarota told WND.

Under the DREAM Act, illegal immigrants attending community colleges or public universities would receive in-state tuition.

Camarota estimates that on average, each illegal immigrant who attends a public institution will receive a tuition subsidy from taxpayers of nearly $6,000 for each year he or she attends, for a total cost of $6.2 billion a year, not including other forms of financial assistance they may also receive.

The DREAM Act does not provide funding to states or counties to cover the in-state tuition subsidies the bill mandates.

The bill also does not provide any enforcement mechanism to screen out fraud committed by applicants who may not meet its requirements, including the requirement that the applicant first came to the U.S. illegally before age 16.

Without an enforcement mechanism, Gheen estimates that the number of illegal immigrants applying for citizenship under the DREAM Act could turn out to total 2 to 3 million, not just the 1 million illegal immigrants truly in the U.S. before age 16.

"Whether the DREAM Act passes the Senate is entirely dependent upon whether or not the bill's supporters can find the 60 votes needed to break a filibuster," Camarota said, noting that Reid could not rely on all Senate Democrats to hold party line and vote for the legislation.

Numbers USA agrees, noting that Congress was flooded last week with phone calls opposing passage of the DREAM Act.

Numbers USA has targeted the following 10 senators as undecided votes on the DREAM Act:

Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska
DC: (202) 224-6665 Local: (907) 271-3735

Mary Landrieu, D-Louis.
DC: (202) 224-5824 Local: (225) 389-0395

Susan Collins, R-Maine
DC: (202) 224-2523 Local: (207) 622-8414

Olympia Snowe, R-Maine
DC: (202) 224-5344 Local: (207) 622-8292

Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich.
DC: (202) 224-4822 Local: (313) 961-4330

Claire McCaskill, D-Miss.
DC: (202) 224-6154 Local: (314) 367-1364

Max Baucus, D-Mont.
DC: (202) 224-2651 Local: (406) 657-6790

Byron Dorgan, D-N.D.
DC: (202) 224-2551 Local: (701) 250-4618

Kent Conrad, D-N.D.
DC: (202) 224-2043 Local: (701) 258-4648

Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.
DC: (202) 224-3954 Local: (304) 264-4626

http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=239397