Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options

The Dream Act, which allows children of undocumented immigrants to work toward legal status and pursue a college education, failed again on Sept. 21 to pass through the U.S. Senate. But Kevin Appleby, director of migration policy and public affairs for the U.S. bishops’ Office of Migration and Refugee Services, expressed confidence on Sept. 24 that the idea “is gaining more support on the merits.” The legislation regularizes the legal status of people who came to the United States before age 16, lived here at least five years, graduated from a U.S. high school and were pursuing higher education or military service. According to the Migration Policy Institute, approximately 114,000 young people who have already obtained at least an associate’s degree would be immediately eligible for conditional lawful permanent resident status under the legislation. Another 612,000 high school graduates could be eligible if they graduated from college or completed two years of military service.

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

“Inside the Vatican” host Colleen Dulle shares how her visit to Argentina gave her a deeper understanding into Francis’ emphasis on “being amongst the people” and his belief that “you can’t do theology behind a desk.”
Inside the VaticanApril 25, 2024
Vehicles of Russian peacekeepers leaving Azerbaijan's Nagorno-Karabakh region for Armenia pass an Armenian checkpoint on a road near the village of Kornidzor on Sept. 22, 2023. (OSV news photo/Irakli Gedenidze, Reuters)
Christians who have lived in Nagorno-Karabakh for 2,000 years are being driven out by Azerbaijan. Will world leaders act?
Kevin ClarkeApril 25, 2024
The problem is not that TikTok users feel disappointed about the potential loss of an entertaining social platform; it is that many young people see a ban on TikTok as the end of, or at least a major disruption to, their social life. 
Brigid McCabeApril 25, 2024
The actor Jeremy Strong sitting at a desk reading a book by candlelight in a theatrical production of the play Enemy of the People
Two new Broadway productions cast these two towering figures in sharp relief.
Rob Weinert-KendtApril 25, 2024