1. The DREAM Act
Policies Preceding the Dream Act and Why Comprehensive Immigration Reform Has Been Unsuccessful

2. Timeline of Immigration Policy Since 1986
Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act
Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act
Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act/
Operation “Endgame Started”
NAFT/Operation Safe Guard /Operation Gatekeeper
Immigration and Customs Enforcement Created
Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill
Immigration Reform and Control Act
Dream Act Introduced/USA Patriot Act
Operation Blockade/ Hold the Line
ICE’s reform of 287(g) Program
Immigration Act of 1990
Homeland Security Act
Immigration Bill
1986
1989
1990
1993
1994
1996
1997
2001
2002
2003
2004
2006
2007
2009

3. 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA)
Ronald Reagan
Granted amnesty to roughly 3 million illegal aliens who were able to prove continuous residence in the United States since January 1,1982.
Raised the annual immigration ceiling to 540,000
Required employers to verify immigration status of workers hired.
H-2 temporary worker program split between H-2A (agriculture) and H-2B (nonagricultural) workers.

4. Tightening Border Control— 1990s
Prevent Illegal Immigration Through Deterrence:
Operation Blockade
Operation Hold the Line
Operation Gatekeeper

5. Immigration Act of 1990

The annual immigration ceiling was further raised to 700,000 for 1992, 1993,and 1994.
Following 1994, the ceiling would drop to 675,000 a year.
Ten thousand permanent resident visas were offered to those immigrants agreeing to invest at least $1 million in U.S. urban areas or $500,000 in U.S. rural areas.
The McCarran-Walter Act of 1952 was amended so that people can no longer be denied admittance to the United States on the basis of their beliefs, statements, or associations.

6. Immigration Acts of 1996
A busy year for immigration reform, stemming primarily from fears from the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center and 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. 
Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act
Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRAIRA)
Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act

7. 9/11 and The USA Patriot Act
9/11 attack on the WTC created widespread national security fears
Increase in restrictive immigration policy
The Patriot Act-2001
Homeland Security Act-2002
Immigration and Customs Enforcement Created-2003
Operation Endgame-2004
In 2005, a Homeland Security Spending Bill increased funds for immigration law enforcement to $10 billion.
New ICE Strategy Introduced-2008

8. Attempts at Comprehensive Immigration Reform
Secure America and Orderly Immigration Bill-2005
Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill-2006
Immigration Bill-2007 


9. Challenges Facing Comprehensive Immigration Reform
Reframing the issue from immigration to an issue of border protection
9/11- Increasingly restrictive policy
Linking immigration with terrorism
Weakens any attempt at comprehensive immigration reform, including the DREAM Act

10. Public Education and Undocumented Immigrants
1982 Plyler v. Doe
Education access from kindergarten through twelfth grade
Supreme Court addressed issue of denying free public education to illegal students
Texas
Some school district denying illegal students access to education
Others charged a fee to attend school
Violated Equal Protection Clause of Fourteenth Amendment

11. Public Education and Undocumented Immigrants
Higher Education
Immigration Act of 1996
Requires educational institutions to provide the Immigration and Naturalization Service information on foreign students
Regardless of length of residency, unable to receive in-state tuition
Diminished access to higher education for young immigrants

12. Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act
DREAM Act
“The DREAM Act does not grant citizenship. Rather, it provides a pathway to earn one’s citizenship.” –Paul Ortiz, Director of UF’s Samuel Proctor Oral History Program
National Immigrant Law Center estimates 50, ,000 undocumented students graduate U.S. high schools each year

13. The DREAMers Played no role in their illegal arrival in the U.S.
In general- brought to the United States as young children, speak English, consider themselves Americans, and will live the rest of their lives in this country

14. Consistent Terms of the DREAM Act
Provides a route to naturalization for certain illegal and deportable individuals who:
Arrived in the US illegally prior to age 16
Have been in the country continuously for at least five years prior to the bill's enactment
Have been a person of good moral character
Has been admitted to an institution of higher education in the US or has attained a high school diploma or GED
Satisfying these conditions would allow the individual temporary residency for a period of time during which they must:
Acquire a degree from an institution of higher education in the United States or complete at least 2 years, in good standing, in a program for a bachelor's degree or higher degree in the United States
An individual may apply for permanent residence after the conditional period

15. The DREAM Act continued
Initial Version introduced on August 1st, 2001:
Main Goals:
“To amend the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to permit States to determine State residency for higher education purposes and to authorize the cancellation of removal and adjustment of status of certain alien college-bound students who are long-term United States residents.”
Allows for Conditional Permanent Residence Status
Eventual opportunity to remove the conditional status and become a naturalized citizen

16. Changes to the DREAM Act continued…
A later version introduced on July 31st, 2003
Major Changes Introduced:
Establishes that an individual must have been under 16 on the date of their entry to the US
Establishes a period of 6 years for the conditional permanent residence status
Establishes terms for the termination of the conditional permanent resident status
Those who served at least two years in the Armed Forces are eligible for petition status

17. Changes continued Version introduced on March 6th, 2007:
Major Changes Introduced:
Establishes terms of higher education assistance
Version introduced on March 26, 2009:
Major Changes:
Establishes 35 as the maximum age of applicants at the time the act is enacted.

18. Latest Version of DREAM Act
December 1st, 2010
Major Changes:
Increases the period of conditional nonimmigrant status from 6 years to 10 years.
Prevents individuals from benefitting from a broad range of public benefits, including the recent health care reform.
Does not repeal the federal law limiting how states can provide in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants.
Applicants must be younger than 30 on the date of the DREAM Act’s enactment.
Vocational institutions included under “institution of higher learning.”
Applicants must show good moral character since the time they entered the U.S. (rather than since the time of application).
Makes applicants subject to more grounds of inadmissibility, deportability, and other restrictions.

19. Opposition to the DREAM Act
Belief that the act rewards illegal activity
Would encourage continued illegal immigration
View of The DREAM Act as amnesty
Fear that it would take education spots away from American students and make it more difficult for them to obtain tuition assistance
Addition of stipulations in bill about the types of aid they can receive during conditional status
“I think that it must be part of an overall comprehensive solution to immigration once we have the border secured, and not until then.”
--Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb.

20. References
"Bill Summary & Status - 108th Congress ( ) - S.1545." THOMAS (Library of Congress). Web. 16 Feb <
"Bill Summary & Status - 107th Congress ( ) - S.1291." THOMAS (Library of Congress). Web. 16 Feb <
"Bill Text - 111th Congress ( )." THOMAS (Library of Congress). Web. 16 Feb <
"Bill Text - 111th Congress ( )." THOMAS (Library of Congress). Web. 16 Feb <
"Bill Text - 110th Congress ( )." THOMAS (Library of Congress). Web. 16 Feb <
Bruno, Andora, Garcia Michael, and Karma Ester. Congressional Research Service. Immigration Legislation and Issues in the 109th Congress. , Web. 20 Feb 2011
History of U.S. Immigration Laws. "FAIR: History of US Immigration Laws and Policies." FAIR: Federation for American Immigration Reform. 21 Feb <
Galassi, Jennifer. “Dare to Dream? A Review of the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act.” 24 Chicano-Latino L. Rev. 79 (2003) 
"Mexico: Crimes at the Border." Frontline World Stories (2010): n.pag. Web. 20 Feb <
National Immigration Law Center. "DREAM | Immigrant Student Adjustment." NILC Home. Web. 19 Feb <
Shapiro, Robert, and Jiwon Vellucci. "The Impact of Immigration and Immigration Reform on the Wages of American Workers." New Policy Institute (2010): n. pag. Web. 20 Feb 2011
"Reid Angers GOP by Pushing Four Versions of DREAM Act Without Hearing - FoxNews.com." FoxNews.com - Breaking News | Latest News | Current News. 01 Dec Web. 18 Feb <
The Dream Is Coming. "DREAM 21 (DC) « The Dream Is Coming…." Web. 19 Feb <