By JOSEPH G. LARIOSA

(Journal Group Link International)

Thousands Could be Legalized by Tuesday If the U. S. Senate Passes the National-Defense Authorization Bill and Its Twin Riders

C HICAGO (jGLi) –Tens of thousands of illegal immigrants could gain a path to legal residency if the U.S. Senate passes the National Defense Authorization Bill on Tuesday.

Two amendments – the DREAM Act and the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” – have been inserted as riders in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 that will be up for a vote on Tuesday.

If passed, the bill will repeal the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that bars gay men and lesbian from serving openly in the military. The policy has been declared by a federal court in California unconstitutional.

Chicago-based Filipino American grassroots advocates Jerry Clarito and Juanita Salvador Burris of AFIRE (Alliance of Filipinos for Immigrant Rights and Empowerment) informed the Filipino American community that they should call their respective senators and congressmen to support the National Defense Authorization Bill when it comes to a vote on Tuesday.

They also asked them to send a fax or call Republican Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Congressman Mark Kirk (R-IL) and ask them to stop Republican obstruction on the DREAM Act and immigration reform.

The phone number of Senator McConnel is 202.224.2541 while Congressman Kirk is 202.225.4835.

The immigration reform movement gained traction last Tuesday when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced the DREAM Act will be tacked in the Department of Defense Authorization bill. It is a bill that allows undocumented youth to legalize their status by joining the U.S. Military or by attending college education.

Last Wednesday, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) also announced that he will introduce a comprehensive immigration reform bill that will include a pathway to citizenship for the 11-million undocumented people living in the US.

On Thursday, Congressman Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) asked President Barack Obama for a moratorium on deportation.

Mr. Gutierrez said if the Senate passes the Defense Authorization bill Tuesday, they have the 218 majority votes needed to pass it in House of Representatives.

Immigrant advocates told callers that when they call their senators and congressmen they should remind them that if they support the immigration reform bill they will be assured of their support in the mid-term elections on Nov. 2nd.

Republican leader McConnell called the DREAM Act an "extraneous" amendment to the Defense Authorization bill while Illinois Congressman Mark Kirk, who is running for Illinois senator, refuses to support the DREAM Act.

Advocates said callers to these Republican leaders should be told to stop obstructing the DREAM Act and immigration reform.

Immigration authorities are ratcheting up the deportation of illegal aliens, peaking at 1,100 people being deported every day, mostly law-abiding and no criminal records.

Passage of comprehensive immigration reform is the only means to stop the deportation of undocumented immigrants who could gain path to citizenship provided they worked hard, paid taxes and committed to live productively in the United States.

ABC News reported Thursday that President Obama met privately in the Oval Office with Senator Menendez, Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY) and Representative Gutierrez. Mr. Obama assured them that he would push to help get the DREAM Act passed.

“The President made it absolutely clear to us that he would leave no stone unturned in order to accomplish an approval in the Senate of the DREAM Act," Mr. Gutierrez said from the White House driveway this afternoon. “We asked him to put the full weight and might and the full influence of The White House and his personal energy and commitment behind it.”

The DREAM Act would help undocumented students who came to the US before age 16 become legal residents after five years by completing higher education or joining the military service.

Senators Dick Lugar (R-IN) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced the DREAM Act on March 26, 2009. This is the third Congress in which Senators Lugar and Durbin have introduced the legislation.

The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act would provide immigration relief to a select group of students and allow them to become permanent residents if they came to the United States as children (under the age of 16), are long-term U.S. residents (5 years or more), have good moral character, and attend an institution of higher learning or enlist in the military for at least two years. In addition, the legislation would allow states to grant in-state tuition rates to alien students. The DREAM Act would provide young people with an incentive to move towards permanent residency, while pursuing further education or serving our country in the U.S. Uniformed Services. # # #

Editor’s Note: To contact the author, please e-mail him at:  (lariosa_jos@sbcglobal.net)