Although an overwhelming Senate vote favored bypassing the filibuster that tabled the DREAM Act, the initiative still fell five votes short. The act did not become law last December after it met with heavy Republican opposition.

First introduced in 2001 by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act would have provided a path to U.S. citizenship for some foreign-born high school graduates who immigrated illegally as children.

Senators voted 55-41 with the majority voting along party lines. Five Democrats voted against the DREAM Act while the remaining opposition came from the Republican Party members who argue that the DREAM Act essentially gives amnesty to illegal immigrants in the U.S.

“They’re preying to peoples’ worst fears,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). “The DREAM Act couldn’t be further from amnesty. It’s hard work. It gives so many the incentive to contribute to our nation and its economy.”

The DREAM Act would have allowed illegal immigrants with a high-school diploma or a GED to apply for a six-year conditional citizenship if they are under 30 and came to the U.S. before turning 16. In addition, it would have required those requesting temporary citizenship either to be enrolled in a four-year college or university and obtain a degree in good academic standing or to complete two years in the U.S. military and finish a term with an honorable discharge.

Matt McLogan, vice president for University Relations at Grand Valley State University, said although the act failed to pass into law, the primary issues behind the act will likely surface again.

“I suspect that the underlying issues in the Dream Act – college and military service – will surface again when Congress decides to debate immigration in its entirety, perhaps in the next year or so,” he said.

Key supporters of the bill are standing behind the DREAM Act and saying the bill will be passed eventually under the larger, more comprehensive umbrella of immigration reform.

Until then, GVSU and college campuses around the nation remain unaffected by the failed legislation.

“Because the law wasn’t enacted, there isn’t really any change to the potentially affected students other than understandable disappointment,” said Dwight Hamilton, assistant vice president for Affirmative Action. “Without the law change, GVSU’s policies remain the same.”

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