Dream Act passes House, stalls in Senate; George LeMieux says he's still opposed

Short of votes to push along the Dream Act, Senate Democrats are delaying a showdown vote on the measure -- and voted this morning to table the measure. They'll try to move the House version that passed last night after the Senate votes on extending the Bush-era tax cuts -- a priority for GOP'ers in the Senate.

Despite a lobbying effort among young activists, Florida Republican George LeMieux said he's still opposed: "I am very sympathetic to the young people who entered our country illegally by no fault of their own, but I cannot support consideration of the DREAM Act without addressing border security. I recently visited the US-Mexico border in Arizona and witnessed the progress toward securing the border. Fully funding and replicating our security successes across the border would allow us to address the DREAM act. However, we are still far from achieving a level of border security that is acceptable to me or to the American people."

Lincoln Diaz-Balart, a prime sponsor of the legislation, had been scheduled to be on a conference call today to press for passage but didn't make it. The call featured conservatives urging the Senate to pass the bill.


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