Monday, December 20, 2010

DREAM Act Blocked in Senate

DREAM Act Blocked in Senate: Senate Republicans on Saturday doomed an effort that would have given hundreds of thousands of young undocumented immigrants a path to legal status if they enrolled in college or joined the military.

Sponsors of the Dream Act fell five votes short of the 60 they needed to break through largely GOP opposition and win its enactment before Republicans take over the House and narrow Democrats' majority in the Senate next month.

President Barack Obama called the vote “incredibly disappointing.”

“A minority of senators prevented the Senate from doing what most Americans understand is best for the country,” Obama said. “There was simply no reason not to pass this important legislation.”