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October 18, 2010
Thank you for contacting me regarding the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act. I greatly appreciate hearing your thoughts on this important issue.
The DREAM Act (S. 729) was introduced on March 26, 2009 and referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Similar bills have been introduced during previous Congresses, but never garnered enough support to pass.
The DREAM Act would provide illegal immigrants who are students with a path to citizenship. Under the DREAM Act, these students could receive conditional permanent residency if they meet certain criteria, including: entering the United States before age 16; living in the United States for at least five continuous years immediately before the bill becomes effective; graduating from high school or gaining admission into an institute of higher education; having "good moral character;" and being younger than 35 when the bill becomes effective. Students must also demonstrate that they are not inadmissible to the country and are not under final order for deportation or removal. After a six year period of conditional permanent residency, these individuals could then apply for citizenship if they continued to demonstrate "good moral character," continued to live in the United States, and completed at least two years of higher education or served at least two years in the military.
Like you, I oppose the DREAM Act and amnesty. While I am open to considering some of the provisions of the DREAM Act in the context of comprehensive immigration reform, I do not support this bill as a stand-alone measure. I strongly believe that the United States must take the necessary steps to fix the way we handle illegal immigration, and I am committed to achieving practical, bipartisan, comprehensive reform that will protect taxpayers and address the problem of illegal immigration at its core. We must strengthen our borders, crack down on employers who knowingly hire illegal workers, and shut down the underground economy. With our economy in peril, it is more important than ever to ensure that we are protecting the jobs, wages and working conditions of American workers.
Again, thank you for contacting my office. It is truly an honor to represent North Carolina in the United States Senate, and I hope you will not hesitate to contact me in the future should you have any further questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Kay R. Hagan
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