DREAM Act passes Congress – On to the Senate!

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Fresh from the office of Loretta Sanchez:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez (CA-47) today issued the following statement regarding House passage of the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, which would give students who grew up in the United States a chance to contribute to our country’s well-being by serving in the Armed Forces or pursuing a higher education:

“The DREAM Act is commonsense, bipartisan legislation that will provide millions of young people with the opportunity to achieve the American Dream. While I would have liked to see this bill passed as part of a comprehensive immigration package, I am hopeful that the Obama Administration and this Congress will build on today’s success by advocating for additional immigration reforms. America was built on the promise of freedom and opportunity, and the DREAM Act embodies these principles.”

Well…  I suppose now it goes to the Senate where the Republicans will filibuster it like they filibuster everything, knowing Senate Republicans as we do.  But is that necessarily so?  Consider:

  • Two Republican Senators – still in the Senate – originally helped write the thing – Orrin Hatch and Dick Lugar.
  • Do Republicans really want to keep antagonizing Latinos, assuring themselves minority status very soon and for decades?
  • Supposedly their pretext for filibustering everything this month was that they were holding out for the tax cuts for millionaires;  well apparently they’ve worked that out with Obama now, for better or worse.
  • Also, this is a watered-down version of the old DREAM Act which Reid has filled with compromises to make it more palatable to Republicans;  but it’s still good enough that the DREAM Team is still supporting it, so I do too – it’s progress.

Taking all those items into account, we can hope cautiously that hateful little people like commenter Solanzo T may soon be eating their words.  Adelante!


About Zorro

Yes, Zorro is gay. Zorro is gay in San Francisco, black in South Africa, an Asian in Europe, a Chicano in San Ysidro, an anarchist in Spain, a Palestinian in Israel, a Mayan Indian in the streets of San Cristobal, a Jew in Germany, a Gypsy in Poland, a Mohawk in Quebec, a pacifist in Bosnia, a single woman on the Metro at 10pm, a peasant without land, a gang member in Santa Ana, an unemployed worker, an unhappy student and, of course, a good government advocate in Anaheim. Zorro is all the exploited, marginalized, oppressed minorities resisting and saying `Enough'. He or she is every minority who is now beginning to speak and every majority that must shut up and listen. He or she is every untolerated group searching for a way to speak. Everything that makes power and the good consciences of those in power uncomfortable -- this is Zorro.