In the end, the weeks of rallies fail to pay off for immigration activists. DREAM Act dies in Senate

The weeks of rallies, hunger strikes and sit-ins and the thousands of phone calls placed to Senate offices didn’t pay off for immigration activists.

The decade-old DREAM Act once again failed to break a filibuster in the Senate on Saturday morning, effectively killing the bill this year and shutting the door on what perhaps was the last chance for pro-immigration reform legislation until at least the 2012 election.


Senate Democrats came up five votes short of the 60 needed to advance the House-passed bill, which would provide a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants brought to the country as children if they attend college or join the military for two years.

The 55-41 vote was mostly along party lines, though a handful of Democrats — perhaps fearful of their 2012 election outlook — also voted against the DREAM Act.

This latest vote really didn't ever have a chance in the current political climate, which has moved decidedly against liberalizing immigration laws in recent years. Nonetheless, as droves of disappointed activists left the Senate galleries after the vote, several were crying – a sign of how emotionally charged the issue had become.

“I’ve known the names of most people and how they would vote for a long, long time,” said Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the chief sponsor of the bill. “We’ve been working on the fringes to try to get the five. We’d hope for a few more on our side of the aisle and a few more on their side of the aisle, but we didn’t achieve it today.”

The DREAM Act would have passed if Democrats had shown unity on the measure.

But five Democrats voted against the legislation: Kay Hagan of North Carolina, Mark Pryor of Arkansas, Ben Nelson of Nebraska and both Montana Democrats, Jon Tester and Max Baucus. West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin announced his opposition to the DREAM Act Saturday in a statement Saturday but missed the vote.

Three Republicans crossed party lines to vote for the bill: Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Utah Sen. Bob Bennett.

The DREAM Act’s defeat was a resounding victory for conservatives who have denounced the bill as a mass amnesty plan. But it was a blow for top Senate Democrats and President Barack Obama, who enlisted a half dozen Cabinet secretaries to lobby undecided lawmakers and embark on a media blitz highlighting that the bill would send more people to college, boost military recruitment and help the economy.

“This bill is a law that at its fundamental core is a reward for illegal activity,” said Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) on the floor an hour before the vote. “It’s the third time we’ve tried to schedule a vote on it during this lame-duck session; it’s the fifth version of this legislation that has been introduced in the past five months.”

After years of Congress failing to deal with the nation’s 11 million illegal immigrants, Hispanic leaders and immigration activists expressed frustration at the vote, vowing to target senators in 2012 and future elections.

For the lawmakers who voted against the bill, “it will be a defining vote in their career,” said Frank Sharry, executive director of America’s Voice, an immigrant advocacy group which has been fighting for the DREAM Act.

“They’re standing at the school house door saying no to the best and the brightest of the Latino immigrant community,” he said, “and they will have a lot of explaining to do if they run for reelection or aspire to higher office.”

Democrats in recent days had brought forth immigrants who might benefit from the legislation to tell their personal stories, but the odds were stacked against the DREAM Act going into the Saturday vote.

Julieta Garibay, an activist with the United We Dream Network, emigrated from Mexico City when she was 12. Now 30, Garibay said she is bilingual and received a master’s degree in nursing yet hasn’t been able to find a good job because of her undocumented status.

“It’s very disappointing. You work so hard for your degree, and then you just need to put it on hold. It’s no longer a matter of politics. These are lives, and this is my future,” said Garibay, who recently traveled to the Capitol from her home in Austin, Texas. “We’re going to remember who voted against us and we’re going to hold them accountable. It’s been enough talk, it’s been enough promises and compromises.”

The version of the DREAM Act considered by the Senate on Saturday was more narrowly tailored in an effort to appeal to moderate Democrats and Republicans. Those eligible for conditional legal status must have come to the U.S. before the age of 16, be under the age of 30, have lived in the country for five consecutive years, pass a criminal background test and have a high school diploma or GED equivalent.

Under the bill, children who were brought to the country illegally who go to college or sign up for the military for two years could receive permanent residency after 10 years.

But Sessions and other critics maligned the bill for weeks, saying it would offer amnesty to up to two million illegal immigrants and add billions of dollars to the federal deficit in the long-term. They also complained that there were loopholes. For example, the bill doesn’t require beneficiaries to graduate from college and allows those who have committed up to two misdemeanor crimes to be eligible.

The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, first introduced in 2001 by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), initially received bipartisan support. But Republicans have mostly abandoned the legislation in recent years as the conservative wing of the party gained greater influence.

The Senate in September tried to pass the measure as part of a broader defense policy bill, but the effort was filibustered by Republicans. The Democratic-controlled House breathed new life into the legislation last week when it passed a standalone bill 216 to 198, but few expected the bill to attract a filibuster-proof 60 votes in the Senate.

Beginning next month, as the GOP grabs control of the House and more seats in the Senate, pro-immigrant measures will have even a harder time advancing.

But Ali Noorani, executive director of the National Immigration Forum, said this year’s fight for the DREAM Act has rallied conservative religious leaders, labor groups and mainstream celebrities behind a single cause.

In recent days, actress Jessica Alba, comedian Margaret Cho and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Junot Diaz have spoken in favor of the DREAM Act.

“While legislative votes did not move, it’s clear the country is moving in the direction of immigration reform,” Noorani said.

“This vote is the World Cup of immigration votes for the immigrant community,” he said, “and I think it’s going to be very clear for Latinos, Asians and other immigrant voters who voted for the DREAM Act and against the DREAM act, and the community will make a decision along those lines in 2012.”