Summary of H.R. 1275 – American DREAM Act

Summary of H.R. 1275 – American DREAM Act

The purpose of the American Dream Act (H.R. 1275, S. 774), introduced in the House on March 1, 2007 and in the Senate on March 6, 2007 is to change the status of current undocumented status of an immigrant to permanent resident status only if they qualify for the following requirements stated in the bill.

The qualifying person must show the following:

  1. Continuous Residency – PHYSICALLY present in the U.S. for at least 5 years or longer from the date of enactment of the bill.

    1. If the bill is enacted on 3/1/2007, the last qualifying date of start of continuous residency is 3/1/2002. So anyone who entered the U.S. after this date is not qualified.

    2. Short breaks in this period is okay as long as they are “brief, casual, and innocent absences” (this is not specified).

    3. Breaks that cannot be considered as B. CAN BE (NOT WILL BE) waived if for “humanitarian purposes, family unity, or public interest.” (These are also not specified).

  2. Age Limit – Younger than 16 at the age of INITIAL entry.

    1. You don’t qualify if you came on your 16th birthday but you do if it was a day before your 16th birthday.

  3. Good Moral Character – No criminal or related records, no security related records, no history of illegal immigration, no “smugglers.”

    1. You can be undocumented now, can’t be at the time of entry.

  4. Higher Education – AT THE TIME OF APPLICATION,

    1. Enrolled in an institution of higher education. These are accredited schools, colleges, and universities in the United States. The listing is available at: http://www.utexas.edu/world/univ/ OR

    2. Earned a U.S. high school diploma or obtained a G.E.D. (General Education Development Certificate) in the U.S.

  5. WAIVER - Secretary of Homeland Security has the power to waive removal if it will result in extreme hardship to the qualified person, person’s child, or person’s parents (if the person is a CHILD).

    1. It is important to note that “extreme hardship” is not explained in detail. Also, the definition of a “child” is not clarified.

  6. Procedures – Secretary of Homeland Security will be responsible for providing a regulatory procedure for the application.

    1. The procedure will have to ensure that the qualifying applicant will not be placed in removal proceedings.

    2. The first proposal of interim regulations will be written within 180 days of the enactment of the bill by the Secretary of the Homeland Security.

    3. The final publication of the regulations will be within 90 after the publication date of the first proposal of interim regulations.

CONDITIONAL PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS

  1. This conditional status is valid for 6 years.

  2. This status can be removed under 3 circumstances:

    1. The person becomes a public charge

    2. The person receives other than honorable discharge from uniformed services

    3. If fails to show continued good moral character explained above

  3. Any applicant who has conditional status removed will regain the status immediately prior to receiving conditional permanent residency.

  4. A person can file a petition of change of status to permanent resident anytime between 180 days before and 2 years after the date when conditional permanent resident status was granted or another expiration date granted by the Secretary of Homeland Security.

PETITION TO ADJUST STATUS

In order to petition for permanent resident status and remove the conditional status, a person must qualify for the following:

  1. Good Moral Character (as explained above) – For a period same as the person has been a conditional permanent resident.

  2. U.S. Residency – The person has not been out of the U.S. for more than 365 days total during the period of conditional permanent residence.

    1. It’s okay to have been out for a total of more than 365 days as long as some proof is there to show that the person has not abandoned residency.

    2. Absences related to active uniformed services do not count towards this total.

  3. Education Requirement – There are three ways to fulfill this requirement

    1. Acquire a degree from an institution of higher education in the U.S.

      1. This will include accredited community colleges

    2. Complete minimum of 2 years, IN GOOD STANDING, for a Bachelor’s or higher degree in the U.S.

    3. 2 years of service in any uniformed services and honorable discharge if discharged

      1. Uniformed Services - armed forces, the Army National Guard, and the Air National Guard of any state, territory, commonwealth, possession, or district when engaged in active duty for training, inactive duty training, full-time National Guard duty, or state active duty, the commissioned corps of the Public Health Service, the Coast Guard, and any other category of persons designated by the president of the United States in time of war or national emergency.

    4. ALREADY QUALIFIED – A person need not go to school again if already completed the above. In this case, the person must provide a listing of all of the secondary educational institutions that the alien attended in the U.S.

    5. The conditional status may be extended in some cases to complete the Education Requirement.

  4. Exceptions – If a person has satisfied the Good Moral Character (as explained above) and U.S. Residency requirements AND can show a compelling reason why the Education Requirement was not satisfied.

    1. This also applies if the removal of the person will result in “extreme hardship” as previously described.

  5. Those enrolled in primary or secondary school

    1. The Attorney General, not the Secretary of Homeland Security, has jurisdiction over the removal of status for these individuals

    2. At least 12 years of age

    3. Full time primary or secondary school student

    4. Satisfies Good Moral Character and U.S. Residency

      1. They do not need to satisfy the education requirement.

    5. This status is lifted (taken away) if they fail to meet requirements C & D above.

Confidentiality of Information – An officer or employee of the U.S. may NOT:

  1. Use applicant’s information filed under this Act to initiate removal proceedings against them.

  2. Make any publications where the applicant’s information can be identified

  3. Permit anyone other than the designated personnel or entity or an officer or employee of the U.S. Government to examine the applications.

  4. An applicant’s information will only be disclosed in the cases of an investigation or prosecution of an offense when there is a written request by the requesting entity. The other case would be disclosure to a coroner to identify a deceased individual (regardless of the cause of death).

  5. The penalty is a fine of no more than $10,000

EDUCATION ASSISSTANCE

An applicant is NOT eligible for Federal Pell grants or Federal supplemental educational opportunity grants until the conditional status is removed.

Details to note:

  1. There is NO LIMIT to the number of eligible persons.

  2. A person CANNOT be removed if an application is pending. (However, does not mention deportation)

  3. “The Secretary of Homeland Security has exclusive jurisdiction to determine eligibility for relief under this Act.”

  4. Only in the cases that the person is “placed into deportation, exclusion, or removal proceedings either PRIOR TO or AFTER filing an application” the Attorney General has exclusive jurisdiction.

  5. A person can be legally employed under conditional status.

  6. Expedited consideration and processing without extra fee.

  7. A person can apply for citizenship as soon as they have successfully removed their conditional status.

These are the current co-sponsors in the Senate:

Sponsor: Sen. Durbin, Richard [IL] – 3/6/2007

Sen Craig, Larry E. [ID] - 3/6/2007

Sen Crapo, Mike [ID] - 3/6/2007

Sen Feingold, Russell D. [WI] - 3/6/2007

Sen Hagel, Chuck [NE] - 3/6/2007

Sen Kennedy, Edward M. [MA] - 3/6/2007

Sen Leahy, Patrick J. [VT] - 3/6/2007

Sen Lieberman, Joseph I. [CT] - 3/6/2007

Sen Lugar, Richard G. [IN] - 3/6/2007

Sen McCain, John [AZ] - 3/6/2007

Sen Obama, Barack [IL] - 3/6/2007

Action in the SENATE:

3/6/2007: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text of measure as introduced: CR S2711-2712)

These are the current co-sponsors in the House of Representative:

Sponsor: Rep. Berman, Howard [CA] – 3/1/2007

Rep Diaz-Balart, Lincoln [FL-21] - 3/1/2007

Rep Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana [FL-18] - 3/1/2007

Rep Roybal-Allard, Lucille [CA-34] - 3/1/2007

Action in the HOUSE:

3/1/2007: Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Education and Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

3/1/2007: Referred to House Judiciary

3/1/2007: Referred to House Education and Labor

Posted on 04/03/2007 - 11:53pm

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