By Connor Adams Sheets
U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-Bayside) is continuing his quest to provide a path to citizenship for high-performing, undocumented immigrant children.
Last week, he sent a letter urging House Democratic leaders to bring the DREAM Act to the floor during the lame-duck session of Congress, which will begin Nov. 29. The letter has more than 40 cosigners.
The bill would provide an opportunity for children of undocumented immigrants to earn permanent legal status by attending college or serving in the U.S. military as long as they meet a host of requirements, including learning English, having lived in America for at least five years at the time the bill is made law and having arrived in the United States through no choice of their own.
Ackerman estimates that 934,000 undocumented children presently in elementary or secondary school would be affected by the bill.
“The DREAM Act is a humanitarian bill that helps kids who are our neighbors that are being punished for a decision they did not make,” Ackerman said in a statement. “All children, documented or undocumented, deserve the same basic educational opportunities that this bill provides. We must fight to pass this legislation now, before the current Congress ends, because next year we won’t have the votes. We owe these children that much.”
Reach reporter Connor Adams Sheets by e-mail at csheets@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4538.
