Archbishop Jose Gomez, coadjutor archbishop of Los Angeles and chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops? Committee on Migration, today described the vote on the DREAM Act in the U.S. Senate as a ?setback, not a defeat.? The DREAM Act, short for the Development, Relief, and Education of Alien Minors Act, failed to attain the sixty votes needed to end a filibuster on the bill, thus ending its prospects for passage in the 111th Congress. The final vote count was 55 in favor of cloture, 41 against, five short of the needed number.
The DREAM Act would provide a path to citizenship for young people who entered the country illegally with their parents as children or infants, provided they complete two years of higher education or two years of military service. As many as 1.8 million young persons could have benefited from the enactment of the DREAM Act.