"Dream Act" immigration bill blocked in Senate (Reuters)

Students look to 2012 after immigration bill fails
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Emboldened by months of phone calls to lawmakers, Hunger Strikes and sit-ins, a group of College Students and graduates in Los Angeles say they plan to take their fight for immigrant rights to the states and the 2012 election after Senate Republicans blocked a key piece of Legislation. But it won't be easy. The Senate vote Saturday to toss the proposal that would have granted young Illegal Immigrants a route to legal status dealt a harsh blow to Student Activists who will fa...

Students look to 2012 after immigration bill fails
Undocumented UCLA Student Leslie Perez, 22, weeps while watching a televised debate of the DREAM Act in the Senate at the UCLA Downtown Labor Center in Los Angeles, Saturday, Dec. 18, 2010. Perez is an undocumented Student at UCLA. The DREAM Act would give provisional legal status to Illegal Immigrants brought to the country as Children. Emboldened by months of phone calls to lawmakers, Hunger Strikes and sit-ins, a group of College Students and graduates in Los Angeles say they plan to take th...

Post-DREAM Act: Is Real Immigration Reform Dead?
The failure of the Senate to achieve Cloture on the DREAM Act has not ended the Immigration debate. Politically, both sides will attempt to capitalize on this vote.  Democrats will argue that they are the only ones who care about the Hispanic community, while Republicans will claim that they are the only ones serious about enforcement.  But from a policy perspective, where might the debate go during the next Congress with Republicans running the House and a stronger GOP presence in the Senat...

DREAM Act Goes Down in Flames in Senate
Undocumented Students push for the DREAM Act at a New York rally. An Immigration Bill that would blaze a trail to legal status for hundreds of thousands of undocumented Students went down in flames in the Senate on Saturday, delivering a critical blow to Democrats and Hispanic Activists. Even though the House approved the DREAM Act last week, the Senate fell five votes short of the 60 needed Saturday to advance the bill past Republican opposition. President Obama said in a statement it was "incr...

The Dream Act is dead. Long live the Dream Act
The DREAM Act is dead.  Long live the Dream Act. Just kidding, the DREAM Act isn’t really dead, it is undead.   Unlike the zombies of fiction in TV and movies, this zombie is real and it will return, I guarantee it.  But for now at least this piece of junk Legislation, this sewage, this deceitful lie from its very inception, won’t be threatening our Sovereignty or occupying Activists time.   And our email accounts will, temporarily, cease to be...

The power of strong tea
The Power of Strong Tea by digby If you want to understand the power of the Tea Party, and more importantly, the power of winning primary battles, read this postmortem on the defeat of the DREAM Act. They tried mightily to convert the many vulnerable 2012 Democrats with threats, but were only successful in a handful. But they converted nearly every 2012 Republican who had previously supported Immigration Reform. I suspect one of the reason we did so much better with the smaller group of Repub...

Post-DREAM Act: Is Real Immigration Reform Dead?
The failure of the Senate to achieve Cloture on the DREAM Act has not ended the Immigration debate. Politically, both sides will attempt to capitalize on this vote.  Democrats will argue that they are the only ones who care about the Hispanic community, while Republicans will claim that they are the only ones serious about enforcement.  But from a policy perspective, where might the debate go during the next Congress with Republicans running the House and a stronger GOP presence in the Senat...

Youth immigration bill falls five votes short of passage
WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans yesterday doomed an effort that would have given hundreds of thousands of young Illegal 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 Obama called the vote “incredibly dis...

Joe Lieberman spearheads 'Don't Ask' repeal, DREAM act dies
Well, I'll say this for Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), the only Orthodox Jew in the Senate: he lives up to his party label as “independent.” Just when it looked like he was just a hair's breadth from being a conservative Republican, he led the charge to Repeal the Military's Don't Ask Don't Tell policy, which passed both Houses of Congress over the weekend. This despite the fact that his best buddy and the guy he supported for the presidency in 2008, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), was po...

Dream Act fails in the U.S. Senate with George LeMieux voting against; Bill Nelson voting in favor
The Senate just shot down a measure aimed at helping put Children of Illegal Immigrants on a path to Citizenship. Florida Dem Bill Nelson voted for the measure; Republican George Lemieux -- whom Activists had targeted -- voted no. It needed 60 votes to survive -- but fell just 5 votes short. Strategists say the measure is likely dead for at least two years with Republicans in control of the U.S. House. Eligible Students watched the proceedings from the Senate gallery and at debate-watching par...

Senate roll vote on Dream Act immigration changes
The 55-41 roll call Saturday by which the Senate voted to pass the DREAM Act, which would give hundreds of thousands of young Illegal Immigrants a path to legal status if they enrolled in college or joined the Armed Forces. The vote fell five short of the 60 needed to enact the Legislation before Republicans take over the House and narrow Democrats' majority in the Senate next month. A "yes" vote is a vote to pass the bill. Voting yes were 50 Democrats, 3 Republicans and 2 Independents. Voting n...

Statement on Senate's DREAM Act Failure
From Mark Silverman of the Immigrant Legal Resource Center: Statement on the Senate’s Failure to Pass the DREAM Act by Mark Silverman, Director of Immigration Policy, Immigrant Legal Resource Center The vote for the DREAM Act failed   in the Senate to advance the DREAM failed today, December 18th.  A majority of the senators voted for the DREAM Act today.  But the vote of 55-41 in favor of the DREAM Act was five votes short of the 60 required because of the Senates ou...

Senators see chance for passing 9/11 health bill
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A retooled bill providing medical care for Firefighters and other emergency responders to the September 11, 2001 attacks could be resurrected soon in the Senate, a few weeks after Republicans blocked the measure, backers said on Sunday. "We believe we are on a path to victory by the end of this week," said Senator Charles Schumer. But he was quick to add that unexpected obstacles could arise. He and fellow New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand outlined for reporters some cha...

Joe Lieberman spearheads 'Don't Ask' repeal, DREAM act dies
Well, I'll say this for Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), the only Orthodox Jew in the Senate: he lives up to his party label as “independent.” Just when it looked like he was just a hair's breadth from being a conservative Republican, he led the charge to Repeal the Military's Don't Ask Don't Tell policy, which passed both Houses of Congress over the weekend. This despite the fact that his best buddy and the guy he supported for the presidency in 2008, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), was po...

Republcans end year with scrooge move on immigration
Senate Republicans on Saturday doomed an effort that would have given hundreds of thousands of young Illegal 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. “A minority of senators prevented the Senate from doing what most...

"Dream Act" immigration bill blocked in Senate
WASHINGTON | Sat Dec 18, 2010 11:49am EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Controversial measure providing a pathway to Citizenship for Illegal Immigrants who came to the United States as Children was dealt a death blow in the U.S. Senate on Friday by Republicans who said it would reward illegal activity. The so-called "DREAM Act" passed the House of Representatives earlier this month, but it failed in the Senate. The Legislation would provide legal residency to Young People who came to the United St...

"Dream Act" immigration bill blocked in Senate
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Controversial measure providing a pathway to Citizenship for Illegal Immigrants who came to the United States as Children was dealt a death blow in the U.S. Senate on Saturday by Republicans who said it would reward illegal activity. The so-called "DREAM Act" passed the House of Representatives earlier this month, but it failed to gain the 60 votes necessary to overcome opposition in the 100-member Senate. President Barack Obama and Democratic supporters vowed to push a...

McConnell: We dont need no stinkin Russian nuclear treaty
Sen. Mitch McConnell The Senate’s Republican leader said Sunday he would oppose a nuclear arms treaty with Russia, damaging prospects for President Barack Obama‘s Foreign Policy priority in the final days of the postelection Congress. Top Democrats still expressed confidence the Senate would ratify the accord by year’s end. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., criticized the treaty’s verification system and expressed concern that the pact would limit U.S. missile defen...

Republicans block youth immigration bill
(12-18) 08:34 PST WASHINGTON, (AP) -- Senate Republicans have blocked a bill to grant hundreds of thousands of Illegal Immigrants brought to the United States as Children a chance to gain legal status if they enroll in college or join the Military. Sponsors of what they call the DREAM Act needed 60 Senate votes for it, but fell five short. The House passed the bill last week. It was a last-ditch effort to enact it before it Republicans take control of the House from Democrats in January. Immig...

Midday Open Thread
DADT is dead, 17 years too late. After much trial and with much tribulation, President Obama and Majority Leader Reid kept a crucial campaign promise and advanced equality in our country. Welcome to the thread. The Christian conservative right considers this the end of America. This is worth reprinting at length for the sheer hilarity. This isn’t a game, and the Military should never be used, as is now being done, for massive social re-engineering. The new Marine motto: “The Few, ...

Republicans block youth immigration bill
WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans on Saturday doomed an effort that would have given hundreds of thousands of young Illegal 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 dis...

Republicans block DREAM Act from advancing in Senate
The Senate failed to overcome a Republican Filibuster of the DREAM Act on Saturday, giving a setback to a major policy issue of Democrats, Latinos and Immigration Reform supporters. The DREAM Act would give Illegal Immigrants who came to the country at a young age, lived here for at least five years, graduated from High School and attended college or served in the Military a pathway toward Citizenship. By a 55-41 vote, it was five votes short of the 60 it needed to advance. In the end, three Rep...

Immigration enforcement won't shift if DREAM fails
WASHINGTON—Immigration officers are unlikely to take extraordinary steps to arrest Young People in the country illegally should the DREAM Act fail in the Senate. Assistant Homeland Security Secretary John Morton said Friday in a Conference Call with reporters that immigration officers will continue their focus on immigrants who have committed crimes or are a threat to the public. He said they will handle cases of non-criminal immigrants on a case-by-case basis. The Senate has scheduled a ...

DREAM ACT; Disagreeing with Ed
Over at Hot Air, Ed Morrissey is looking at the failure of the DREAM Act Cloture vote and noting that six Democrats and two Republicans crossed the aisle to vote against their parties. Ed writes: It’s yet another miscalculation by Reid in a rapidly-closing window of opportunity. If he didn’t have six of his own Caucus in hand, why press the matter at all? Reid raised expectations and then dashed them, a bad strategy in politics. I have enormous respect for Ed , who I regard as my Blogfath...

The Little Bill That Could
Source: Huffington Post Little noticed but extremely important to Progressives, on Saturday afternoon Congress also passed the Local Community Radio Act. This Legislation opens up radio spectrum to hundreds, if not thousands, of local independent Radio Stations (also known as LPFM).Its passing will bring new choices and voices on the radio dial nationwide, but is especially relevant to a broadcast area reaching 160 million people who lived in areas where these stations had previously been barred...