The Dream Act immigration reform bill that passed the House of Representatives 216-198 yesterday does not include any agricultural provisions.
Agriculture and dairy lobbyists pushed hard for including AgJOBS, not only to seek passage of these provisions but to add votes to the overall package. “Those extra votes would have improved chances of passage in both Houses,” says Craig Regelbrugge, co-chair of the Ag Coalition for Immigration Reform.
As it now stands, the Dream Act, which provides a path to citizenship for as many as 500,000 children of illegal immigrants, is likely to be a “cataclysmic failure” in the Senate, says Regelbrugge. In fact, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid tabled the Senate version of the bill today, hoping against hope he could eventually garner more votes.
Passage of the Dream Act has been cited by many as the last best hope for ag immigration reforms during this lame duck session on Congress. With the new year and a new Congress, passage of any immigration reform under conservative Republican control of the House is a virtual non-starter, say Washington insiders.
