Equity & Diversity

No Executive Order for ‘DREAM Act’ Students

By Mary Ann Zehr — June 17, 2010 1 min read
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Four undocumented college students who walked 1,500 miles from Miami to Washington to draw attention to immigration issues say the Obama administration has declined to issue an executive order that would halt deportations of such youths who have come to the United States illegally as children.

ABC News reports that the students met twice with Valerie Jarrett, a senior White House adviser, to talk about immigration reform, and they report the administration has rejected their request for an executive order.

The article also says the Obama administration has not yet responded to a letter written in April by U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Richard Lugar to U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano seeking a halt to deportations of undocumented immigrant youths. The senators asked Napolitano to stop deportations of any students who would be eligible for the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act, or “DREAM” Act. The legislation would provide a path to legalization for undocumented students who meet certain criteria.

Critics of the DREAM Act, which has been introduced in Congress several times but never passed, contend it would provide “amnesty” for people who have broken the country’s laws.

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A version of this news article first appeared in the Learning the Language blog.