Politics

Durbin Makes Final Push to Pass the Dream Act Amid Federal Immigration Crackdown

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, who is making a final push to pass the Dream Act ahead of his retirement, acknowledged Friday the uphill battle he faces to pass the immigration reform legislation for young immigrants, but insists “it is still the right thing to do.”

The Dream Act would give undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children, also known as “Dreamers,” a path to obtain permanent legal status. The reintroduction of the legislation comes amid ramped-up immigration enforcement by the Trump administration, which has targeted several U.S. cities, including Chicago.

“It is unlikely that we’re going to have a majority to pass legislation unless we can convince many Republicans to come and join us,” Durbin said during a Friday news conference in Chicago. 

Durbin, who reintroduced the legislation Thursday in Washington, D.C., described Republican U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s co-sponsoring of the bill as “an extraordinary act of political courage.” Durbin has spent more than two decades pushing for the Dream Act, which he first introduced in 2001.

“This has been the cause of my heart and my life for years,” Durbin said. “With all my experience, you think I could pass a bill, right? But it’s been tough. Things didn’t go our way.”

In the absence of a clear pathway to citizenship for “Dreamers,” the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, created in 2012, aimed to temporarily shield undocumented immigrants who arrived to the U.S. as children from deportation and allow them to legally work in the country with possible renewal every two years.

DACA survived the first Trump administration’s attempt to rescind the program when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2020 that the administration did not take the proper steps to end it. There have since been other attempts to end the program or place restrictions on recipients, including an effort this year to deny work permits for DACA recipients who live in Texas.

Despite having deportation protections, some DACA recipients have been arrested during the Trump administration’s ongoing immigration crackdown, according to an AP report.

U.S. Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin issued a statement saying that people “who claim to be recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) are not automatically protected from deportations. DACA does not confer any form of legal status in this country.” DACA recipients can lose status “for a number of reasons, including if they’ve committed a crime,” McLaughlin said.

The advocacy group National Immigration Forum estimates the Dream Act would allow nearly 525,000 DACA recipients in the U.S., and another 2 million eligible “Dreamers,” to stay in the country. 

About 27,800 DACA recipients are in Illinois, according to the organization.

Under the proposed Dream Act, those brought to the U.S. as children must meet certain requirements to be able to earn permanent legal status and eventual U.S. citizenship. Those requirements include graduating from high school or obtaining a GED; pursuing higher education, working lawfully for at least three years or serving in the military; and passing security and background checks.

“They’re doctors and teachers and judges and law enforcement,” Durbin said. “They are people who contribute to America every single day, and they’re still protected by DACA, but need the permanent solution that would be part of the passage of the Dream Act.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Contact Eunice Alpasan: [email protected]

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