Filipino children who are in the United States illegally may now have a chance to pursue higher studies in the country and eventually become citizens.
At the same time, Filipinos in the country who have petitioned family members from the Philippines may not have to wait several decades for the petition to be approved.
These are the salient points of the comprehensive immigration reform bill that will be a top priority in the US Senate before the end of the year, Nevada Sen. Harry Reid said.
“Filipinos should be very interested in this. Immigration reform is going to be in the top five of our agenda,” he told Asian Journal.
He said the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act will be part of a reform package that aims to improve the immigration laws in the country.
“Yes, it will all be incorporated in one bill,” he added during a telephone interview last week.
The DREAM Act is a bill that would provide certain illegal immigrant students, who graduate from US high schools, a pathway to citizenship.
Every year, an estimated 65,000 students graduate from US high schools. But these undocumented residents cannot go to college because they cannot apply for financial aid or scholarships due to their status.
While some students manage to graduate from college by paying out of pocket, these individuals cannot find employment because of their illegal status.
The DREAM Act would allow undocumented high school graduates in the US to apply for permanent resident status and eventually citizenship.
The proposed legislation was introduced unsuccessfully at various times in the House and Senate since 2001. In 2007, the Senate rejected an attempt to begin a debate on this proposal.
But it was reintroduced in both chambers of Congress last March by, among others, Sen. Reid.
The latest version offers the program to students who have graduated from any US high school, arrived in the country before turning 16 and have lived here for at least five years. The student also has to have good moral character to qualify for the program.
“This (bill) will be a priority this year along with healthcare and energy reforms,” Sen. Reid said during the interview.
Meanwhile, the senator also said that the comprehensive bill on immigration reform will focus on family reunification.
Sen. Reid once told a gathering of Filipino Americans in Las Vegas that he is also frustrated with the immigration backlog that forces families to wait several decades to be reunited in the US.
With the current backlog at the United States Citizenship and Immigration office, immigrant petitions for family members can take more than 20 years to be processed.
Earlier this year, Sen. Reid told reporters in Washington DC that a comprehensive immigration reform bill is “going to happen at this (legislative) session, possibly within the year.”
The Democrat senator, who is the Senate majority leader, has control over the Senate’s legislative calendar.
While not admitting that the comprehensive immigration bill includes an amnesty, Sen. Reid indicated that individuals who are in the US illegally will not be apprehended.
He noted that individuals also need to wait for US citizenship consideration behind applicants who have immigrated legally.
Source: Asian Journal
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