By U.S. Department of Education Office of Communications & Outreach, Press Office on Jun 27, 2011
Today, June 27, the day before the first-ever Senate hearing on the DREAM Act, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, and Margaret Stock, a former professor at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, will be holding a press conference call to endorse the DREAM Act.
They are to speak from several perspectives about the benefits of the DREAM Act to America’s national competitiveness, future workforce and military readiness.
The DREAM Act allows children of undocumented immigrants who have lived in the United States for at least five years, graduated from high school, and are of good moral character the opportunity to earn citizenship by pursuing a higher education or by serving in the U.S. military and undergoing a rigorous process that includes background checks and other requirements over several years. It is estimated that each year, 65,000 young people graduate from high school in the U.S. and find themselves unable to work, join the military or go to college because of their immigration status. Approximately 800,000 young people would be eligible for the DREAM Act upon passage.
Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), who has championed the DREAM Act for more than 10 years, is chairing the first-ever Senate hearing on the DREAM Act on Tuesday, June 28, at 10 a.m. ET, where Secretary Duncan will testify.