STOP the DREAM Act!

STOP the DREAM Act
Take Action! Send your Senators and Representatives a message asking them to vote NO on the DREAM Act

Illegal immigrant students in California qualify for lower tuition rates than students who are legal American citizens from out of state!

If enacted, the DREAM Act would create a pathway through which undocumented immigrant students could obtain conditional permanent residency and, ultimately, American citizenship. Under the legislation, certain students would be eligible for conditional permanent residency if they meet certain criteria, including: entering the United States before age 16; living in the U.S. for at least five continuous years immediately before the bill becomes effective; graduating from high school or gaining admission into an institute of higher education; having “good moral character” and not committed certain crimes; and being younger than 35 when the bill becomes effective. Students must also demonstrate that they have not been under a final order for deportation. After a six year period of conditional permanent residency, these individuals could apply for citizenship if they had continued to demonstrate “good moral character,” continued to live in the U.S., and completed at least two years of higher education or served at least two years in the military.

The DREAM Act has always had strong bipartisan support, and the U.S. Catholic bishops have been long standing supporters of the legislation. Archbishop Jose Gomez, co-adjutor archbishop of Los Angeles and Chairman of the USCCB Committee on Migration, recently reaffirmed USCCB support for the legislation, stating that passage of the bill was “the right thing to do.”

The DREAM Act could come up for a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives as early as the week of November 29th. To promote Congressional action on the DREAM Act, we urge you to send the letter below to your Senators and Representative and ask them to STOP the DREAM Act.

You also can call your Representative or Senators and ask them to STOP the DREAM Act. For the U.S. Senate: 202-224-3121. For the House of Representatives: 202-225-3121.