Durbin Confident DREAM Act Will Pass

Illinois senator spoke Tuesday at event for the Center for American Progress

Senator Dick Durbin on Tuesday expressed confidence that a bill providing a pathway to citizenship for some undocumented immigrants, even if challenged by a lawsuit, would eventually pass.

"Some day, in the not-to-distant future, the DREAM Act is going to be the law of the land," Durbin said in a speech at the Center for American Progress. "I hope to have the honor of attending many a naturalization ceremonies and watching each of these dreamers swear an oath of allegiance to the country they still call home."

His remarks come just about a month after the Obama Administration announced it would no longer seek deportation of some immigrants and allow them to apply for work permits.

"These DREAMers are no longer whispering in the shadows," Durbin said of the ramifications of the president's action.

Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) has said he intends to file a lawsuit to suspend Obama's order, but Durbin dismissed that action as a threat.

"We are lowering the priority here, we are saying we are not going to deport these [DREAM Act students], we will dedicate our resources to those that may be a challenge or problem for our future," Durbin said, according to Roll Call. "That is a clearly recognized principle of law. Congressman King, we know where he’s coming from, and he can continue this if he’d like, but after all that we’ve been through and all these DREAMers have been through, a court challenge is not going to slow us down one bit."
 
The DREAM Act -- short for the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act -- would grant conditional legal status to people illegally brought into the United States as Children if they attend a college or join the United States military.

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