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DREAM Act
Aja Williams
March 26, 2014
Professor Scaletta
Controversial Issues

The DREAM Act (bacronym for Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors) is an American legislative proposal first introduced in the Senate on August 1, 2001. The bill is to grant permanent residency to immigrants who show good moral character and who graduate from U.S. high schools. They have to have moved to the United States as a minor and had lived in the country for more than five years. If the immigrant was in the military for two years or in a four year institution they would obtain a temporary residency for six years. Within the six years they may be granted permanent residency if they obtained a degree. In November 2013, 15 states (Texas, California, Illinois, Utah, Nebraska, Kansas, New Mexico, New Jersey, New York, Washington, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota and Oregon) decided to create their own version of the DREAM Act. In a December 2010 report, the federal Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Committee on Taxation estimated that the November 30, 2010 version of the DREAM Act would reduce (federal) direct deficits by about $1.4 billion over the 2011-2020 period and increase federal revenues by $2.3 billion over the next 10 years.

DREAM Act

The DREAM Act (bacronym for Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors) is an American legislative proposal first introduced in the Senate on August 1, 2001. The bill is to grant permanent residency to immigrants who show good moral character and who graduate from U.S. high schools. They have to have moved to the United States as a minor and had lived in the country for more than five years. If the immigrant was in the military for two years or in a four year institution they would obtain a temporary residency for six years. Within the six years they may be granted permanent residency if they obtained a degree. In November 2013, 15 states (Texas, California, Illinois, Utah, Nebraska, Kansas, New Mexico, New Jersey, New York, Washington, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota and Oregon) decided to create their own version of the DREAM Act. In a December 2010 report, the federal Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Committee on Taxation estimated that the November 30, 2010 version of the DREAM Act would reduce (federal) direct deficits by about $1.4 billion over the 2011-2020 period and increase federal revenues by $2.3 billion over the next 10 years.

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