Under the plan, which passed the House last year but died in the Senate, illegal immigrants who came here as children and complete two years of college or military service could earn legal status. As a backdrop, a recent Latino Decisions poll listed immigration as the top concern facing Hispanics. Census figures also show Hispanics changing the electoral map — by 2012, they'll compose one-fifth of the vote in Texas and one-quarter in California. Because they would be getting better jobs, they'd be paying more taxes, starting businesses and creating jobs, all of which would infuse a much-needed kick-start to the economy and help drive down the national debt, Duncan said. The hearing and a recent memo from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement suggest officials are moving on two fronts to give illegal immigrant students a chance at staying.
The latest ICE memo comes as the Houston Chronicle reported Monday on a string of internal memos from an ICE official in Houston last August that ordered attorneys to dismiss immigration cases that did not meet the "top priorities" of the agency. Though the Houston guidance was later rescinded and the agency said they "exceeded" ICE's official guidance, the Chronicle reported Houston's office was praised internally by ICE supervisors in Washington at the time until the dismissals became public. As a backdrop, a recent Latino Decisions poll listed immigration as the top concern facing Hispanics. Census figures also show Hispanics changing the electoral map — by 2012, they'll compose one-fifth of the vote in Texas and one-quarter in California.
Durbin, D-Ill., in announcing the first-ever Senate hearing on the so-called DREAM Act, said his proposal would "make our country stronger."
The hearing and a recent memo from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement suggest officials are moving on two fronts to give illegal immigrant students a chance at staying.
The memo issued June 17 from ICE Director John Morton instructs staff to consider 19 factors when exercising "prosecutorial discretion" — or the discretion an ICE attorney has in deciding whether and how to pursue or dismiss an immigration case.
The factors include how long an illegal immigrant has been in the United States as well as their criminal history. But the list also includes factors similar to those in the DREAM Act — like whether the suspect arrived in the U.S. as a "young child," whether the suspect is pursuing an education, and whether the suspect has served in the military.
The memo made clear certain factors — like whether a suspect came to the U.S. as a child — should weigh in their favor, while other factors — like a criminal history — should weigh against them.
The Federation for American Immigration Reform, or FAIR, decried the new set of instructions, describing it as a gift to DREAM Act proponents. Though Durbin is pushing anew to pass the legislation, the now GOP-controlled House is unlikely to approve any such bill, even if it clears the Senate.
"By administrative fiat, they are achieving a grand-scale amnesty for large classes of illegal aliens that they have been unable to accomplish with the stalled DREAM Act legislation," FAIR said in a statement last week.
But the ICE memo falls in line with an effort by the Obama administration to prioritize immigration cases, so illegal immigrant criminals are typically deported while those not accused of serious crimes are evaluated on a case-by-case basis. ICE statistics show during the Obama administration, the number of removals for non-criminal illegal immigrants has gone down while the number of removals for illegal immigrant criminals has gone up.
ICE spokesman Brian Hale said the agency is trying to make the most of "limited resources" by going after the most dangerous illegal immigrants.
"The directive clearly states the exercise of discretion is inappropriate in cases involving threats to public safety, national security and other agency priorities," he said.
Another ICE official said the agency has to set "sensible priorities" given it receives a set amount of money from Congress with which to remove "a limited number of individuals."
The official said the administration is "doing more to keep criminal aliens who are threats to public safety — including murderers, rapists and child molesters — off our streets than ever before," as well as targeting employers who break immigration law.
ICE last week touted a series of raids in May that resulted in the arrest of 2,400 illegal immigrant criminals nationwide.
As Democrats renew their push for that act in a Senate hearing today, the sales pitch will also focus on how those children can help the nation's foundering economy.
The DREAM Act provides legal residency and the eventual chance for illegal immigrants brought into the U.S. as children to become full-fledged citizens. These immigrants, under the proposed law, could become citizens if they maintain a clean criminal record, graduate from high school and plan on attending college or joining the military.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan said Monday he will continue to support passage of the law by explaining how the hundreds of thousands of people who could benefit from the act would contribute to the economy.
"This could be a piece of a solution to a number of the challenges our country faces," Duncan said.
The DREAM Act, or the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, passed the Democratic-controlled House in December, but fell short of the 60 votes necessary to win passage in the Senate. Since then, Republicans have taken over the House, and GOP leaders have said they won't consider the DREAM Act until the U.S.-Mexico border is secure and Congress examines the legislation alongside other enforcement provisions.
Rep. Lamar Smith, a Texas Republican who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, said the economic argument would not help because U.S. citizens are most concerned about their own jobs.
"Americans don't want a jobs bill for illegal immigrants, they want an opportunity to go back to work," Smith said in a statement.
But Duncan pointed to the fact there are 3 million unfilled jobs in America in the fields of in the fields of science, technology, education and mathematics these students could help fill.
Senate Democrats are well aware of the difficulty in passing the act through the new House, which leads some to believe the renewed push for the DREAM Act is designed simply as a political ploy to show Hispanic voters ahead of the 2012 elections the Democrats are working for them.
"They have to try that to cover themselves, even though they know it's not going to go anywhere," said Rosemary Jenks, director of government relations for NumbersUSA, a group that wants to limit both legal and illegal immigration.
Sen. Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat who has spent years trying to pass the DREAM Act, said Monday he doubts he has the votes needed to get it passed through the Senate. But he's sponsoring the bill again because enough Republicans have told him privately there are ways they could support it, so he's confident a compromise can be reached even though so many other immigration-related issues remain divisive.
The memo issued June 17 from ICE Director John Morton instructs staff to consider 19 factors when exercising "prosecutorial discretion" — or the discretion an ICE attorney has in deciding whether and how to pursue or dismiss an immigration case.
The factors include how long an illegal immigrant has been in the United States as well as their criminal history. But the list also includes factors similar to those in the DREAM Act — like whether the suspect arrived in the U.S. as a "young child," whether the suspect is pursuing an education, and whether the suspect has served in the military.
The memo made clear that certain factors — like whether a suspect came to the U.S. as a child — should weigh in their favor, while other factors — like a criminal history — should weigh against them.
The Federation for American Immigration Reform, or FAIR, decried the new set of instructions, describing it as a gift to DREAM Act proponents. Though Durbin is pushing anew to pass the legislation, the now GOP-controlled House is unlikely to approve any such bill, even if it clears the Senate.
"By administrative fiat, they are achieving a grand-scale amnesty for large classes of illegal aliens that they have been unable to accomplish with the stalled DREAM Act legislation," FAIR said in a statement last week.
But the ICE memo falls in line with an effort by the Obama administration to prioritize immigration cases, so illegal immigrant criminals are typically deported while those not accused of serious crimes are evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
ICE spokesman Brian Hale said the agency is trying to make the most of "limited resources" by going after the most dangerous illegal immigrants.
"The directive clearly states the exercise of discretion is inappropriate in cases involving threats to public safety, national security and other agency priorities," he said.
Another ICE official said the agency has to set "sensible priorities" given it receives a set amount of money from Congress with which to remove "a limited number of individuals."
The official said the administration is "doing more to keep criminal aliens who are threats to public safety — including murderers, rapists and child molesters — off our streets than ever before," as well as targeting employers who break immigration law.
ICE last week touted a series of raids in May resulted in the arrest of 2,400 illegal immigrant criminals nationwide.
Hector Sanchez, director of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, cheered the administration for trying to make violent illegal immigrants the priority for deportation. He also said Latino voters are "very aware" both parties have fallen short on addressing immigration reform.
