The Dream Act 2010

WASHINGTON - The House passed a legislation last Wednesday to administer foreign-born youth brought to the country illegally a shot at legal status, a fleeting victory for an effort that appears doomed in the Senate. The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act — or DREAM Act — passed 216-198, which the House bill's co-sponsor, Jared Polis, D-Boulder, called a "strong vote." He said Americans should be proud of the estimated 825,000 students affected by the bill, as "our sons and daughters, neighbors, classmates, prom kings and queens, football players and cheerleaders who stayed in school, played by the rules, worked hard, stayed out of trouble."

House Republicans repeatedly referred to the DREAM Act as a "nightmare." "This bill is not the American dream, it's the amnesty dream," said Rep. Tom Graves, R-Ga. Polis argued on the House floor that children should not be punished for their parents' illegal immigration. "If you are pulled over for a speeding ticket and you have a child in a car-seat next to you, that 2-year-old doesn't get the speeding ticket," he said. The Senate is expected Thursday to vote on whether to advance similar legislation, but it's unlikely Democrats can muster the 60 votes needed to advance it. Colorado's two Democratic senators, Mark Udall and Michael Bennet, are co-sponsors of the Senate version.

President Obama has made an intense public push in recent days in favor of the measure, eager to demonstrate his commitment to Hispanic voters, a key voting bloc alienated by his failure to push broader immigration legislation. With the GOP taking control of the House and representing a stronger minority in the Senate next year, failure to enact the legislation now dims the prospects for a path toward legalization for the nation's millions of undocumented immigrants. Despite the obstacles ahead for the bill, supporters were pleased Wednesday night. "This is a historic vote, a major victory for thousands of students who want to serve our nation and theirs by going to college or by military service, said Julien Ross, executive director of the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition.