NYT: DREAM Act Vote, Coming Right Up!

The New York Times reports that Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, has promised to bring the DREAM Act to the floor of the Senate for a vote some time after election. (See Reid Promises Immigration Vote After Election, by Ashley Southall, New York Times, The Caucus (blog), 31.Oct.2010.) The DREAM Act – “DREAM” is short for “Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors” – would provide a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants who came here before age 16, have been here for five years, pass background checks, and either go to college or serve in the U.S. military for two years. (See Immigration Reform on the Installment Plan? MurthyBlog, 22.Sep.2010.)

Senator Reid’s announcement came on a Spanish-language TV show, Univision’s “Al Punto,” in a last-minute attempt to court Latino voters, a pivotal constituency in his uphill fight for reelection. According to the NYT, Senator Reid said he will bring the DREAM Act to the Senate floor for a vote, regardless of the midterm election results. The odds of such a vote succeeding are so long as to make a London bookmaker shudder; it just seems too unsporting. As the Times points out:

“To pass, the measure would require some Republican support, which seems unlikely. A previous version of the Dream Act failed to overcome a Republican-led filibuster in the Senate in 2007. The measure was attached to a defense authorization bill in September 2010 but Republicans (with one Democrat) blocked the legislation.”

“‘I just need a handful of Republicans,’ Mr. Reid said,” according to the Times. Let us hope these won’t be famous last words on the DREAM Act.