The Congressional Dreamer agenda gets very hot

What is in effect The Dream Act will be coming to a vote in September. A killer problem is whether the Senate parliamentarian will allow immigration provisions to be included in a budget reconciliation bill. Here is a briefing on the issues.

To start off, the House bill H.R.6 legalizes Dreamers and protects other immigrant populations. Pelosi included H.6 in her budget bill passed on August 24. 

The American Immigration Council says the following about Dreamer legislative efforts. For a more detailed analysis, go here.

The first version of the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act was introduced in 2001. At least 11 versions of the Dream Act have been introduced in Congress. To date, the 2010 bill came closest to full passage when it passed the House but fell just five votes short of the 60 needed to proceed in the Senate.

The Dream Act of 2021 was introduced in February in the Senate and The Dream and Promise Act of 2021 (H.R. 6) was introduced and passed in March   Both bills would provide path to citizenship for Dreamers. H.R. 6 would also provide a path to citizenship to beneficiaries of two humanitarian programs: Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED). 

the Council estimates that 3 million Dreamers meet the age at entry and educational requirements for conditional permanent resident status under H.R. 6. 2.5 million of are likely to obtain the qualifications necessary for the removal of the conditions on this status. 1.1 million more Dreamers could become eligible for conditional permanent resident status if they enroll in school. Another 400,000 people meet the criteria to adjust to legal permanent residence based on their eligibility for TPS or DED.

Again, the House passed on August 24 a budget bill that includes the contents (revised) of H.R.6. (On September 10 some other provisions appeared relating to visa backlogs and unused visa quotas. See @ReichlinMelnick.)

The Immigration Forum reports on the legislative uncertainties:

The Senate parliamentarian will decide shortly whether Schumer can include in the reconciliation budget bill coming from the House immigration provisions. Go here for a close-in view of the parliamentarian’s role .on this matter

If the parliamentarian green lights the provisions, House Democrats will aim to pass an omnibus bill on party lines by September 27, bringing together Senate passed infrastructure bill (The American Investment and Jobs Act) and the budget reconciliation bill including the immigration provisions. The House passed the budget bill on August (220 to 212).

Once the House approves the omnibus bill, it will go back to the consideration of the Senate. where Democrats hope to by reconciliation to pass the entire package inclusion the immigration provisions.

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