Washington, DC—NCLR (National Council of La Raza), the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States, lauds the passage tonight of the “Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act” in the U.S. House of Representatives. NCLR strongly urges senators to support the counterpart bill that will be taken up in the Senate tomorrow.
“This is an historic moment for the Latino community. For years, we have fought for this long overdue day. Congress saw an overwhelming outpouring of support for the ‘DREAM Act’ from business, military, religious, civil rights, and education leaders from throughout the country, as well as incredible leadership from young students,” said Janet Murguía, NCLR President and CEO. “We are grateful for the dogged efforts of Representatives Luis Gutierrez (D–IL), Xavier Becerra (D–CA), and Nydia Velázquez (D–NY), as well as their colleagues on the Judiciary, the Tri-Caucus, and the Progressive Caucus. We also thank House Leadership and the Obama Administration for their support in getting to a successful vote, and the courageous Republicans who did the right thing.”
The “DREAM Act” will allow young members of our society—who were brought here as children through no decision of their own, have grown up in our country, demonstrated good character, and excelled academically—to earn legal residence by serving in the military or completing two years of college. The measure was endorsed by the fiscal year 2010–2012 Strategic Plan for the Department of Defense’s Office of the Undersecretary for Personnel and Readiness to help the military “shape and maintain a mission-ready All Volunteer Force.”
“We urge the Senate to follow the House’s lead in passing this modest, sensible legislation. They should also act, as the House did tonight, in the best interest of our community, our economy, and our country. Latinos will remember this vote,” concluded Murguía.
