Asian American Leaders Applaud Introduction of DREAM Act; Bill will provide hope, opportunity and prosperity to Asian American students across America 

Washington, D.C. – Today, leaders from the Asian American Justice Center (Washington D.C.), Asian Law Caucus (San Francisco, Calif.), Asian Pacific American Legal Center (Los Angeles, Calif.), and Asian American Institute (Chicago, Ill.) applauded the introduction of the Development Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act (DREAM). The Senate bill is called the DREAM bill, and the House bill has been named the “American Dream Act.”

“In this pivotal time of change, we support the goals of DREAM, which would lift our communities and our national economy by allowing more young and talented individuals to attain status and gain an education,” said Karen K. Narasaki, president and executive director of the Asian American Justice Center.

Introduced by a bipartisan group of Senate and House members, including Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL), Richard Lugar (R-IN), Russell Feingold (D-WI), Edward Kennedy (D-MA), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Joe Lieberman (I- CT), Mel Martinez (R-FL) and Harry Reid (D-NV), and Representatives Howard Berman (D-CA), Joseph Cao (R-LA), John Conyers Jr. (D-MI), Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Devin Nunez (R-CA), Jared Polis (D-CO), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) and Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA), this legislation would allow undocumented students to eventually attain conditional permanent residency by meeting certain requirements, including attending a U.S. high school, proving residency, and having a clean record. These students would also have to go to college or receive a two-year degree. The last time DREAM went to a floor vote in the Senate, it received 52 votes, eight votes shy of passing.

“The passage of this legislation would be a tremendous boost for America’s workforce,” said Tuyet Le, executive director of the Asian American Institute. “We need more multilingual, multicultural and energetic individuals such as these students strengthening the nonprofit, government and private sectors.”

An estimated 1.4 million Asian Americans are undocumented, and many of them are students who have come to America as young children. Studies have shown that undocumented students have the potential to provide the country with enormous economic benefits. The National Foundation for American Policy calculated that “over the next 50 years, new legal immigrants entering the United States will provide a net benefit of $407 billion in present value to America’s Social Security system.”

“This legislation will ensure that young people are provided an equal opportunity to succeed," said Titi Liu, executive director of the Asian Law Caucus. "It is one important piece of comprehensive immigration reform that must be addressed in order to ensure fairness and dignity for all immigrants in our country.”

It is estimated that approximately 65,000 undocumented high school students graduate every year. Many Asian American students are undocumented for a variety of reasons. Many are children of parents who have fled from war-torn countries such as Laos and Vietnam, and whose parents’ asylum petitions were denied in immigration court. Many families had individuals acting as translators inappropriately preparing legal documents for them, and thus fell out of status due to lack of legal representation or inadequate legal representation.

“DREAM is a practical bill that provides opportunities for young people to fully participate in American life,” said Stewart Kwoh, executive director of the Asian Pacific American Legal Center. “This bill is about the American dream for all those who want to become our country’s future leaders, executives, doctors and teachers.”