MDC'S Padrón wants DREAM Act passed

The head of Miami Dade College joined the White House's lobbying campaign for the DREAM Act, urging Republican Sen. George LeMieux of Florida to vote for the bill.
By ALFONSO CHARDY
achardy@ElNuevoHerald.com

Eduardo Padrón, president of Miami Dade College, joined the White House lobbying campaign for the DREAM Act by pushing Friday for Congressional passage of the controversial immigration bill.

The plea came during a conference call with reporters from around the country.

Padrón said he hoped Florida Sen. George LeMieux will change his mind about the bill that would legalize hundreds of thousands of undocumented students brought illegally to the United States by their parents when they were children.

The Florida Republican senator has previously said he would vote against the DREAM Act if it comes up for debate during the lame-duck session of Congress.

LeMieux's stance has become an issue in South Florida with several students, many from Miami Dade College, rallying in front of the senator's Miami-Dade office urging him to change his mind.

Padrón spoke during the conference call hosted by the White House and led by Commerce Secretary Gary Locke.

Besides Locke and Padrón, others on the call included Carlos Campo, the president of Regent University at Virginia Beach, Va., and Gene Block, chancellor of UCLA.

Asked during the call if he had a comment on LeMieux's opposition to the DREAM Act, Padrón said: ``I am still hopeful that Sen. LeMieux, after considering all the facts, will be able to see the light in this issue.''

LeMieux has said he cannot embrace the DREAM Act because he believes that the federal government must first secure the border.

``While I am sympathetic to the students impacted by the current law, I cannot support consideration of the DREAM Act until we have taken substantial and effective measures to secure our borders,'' LeMieux said in a written statement Thursday.

A recent study by the Washington-based Migration Policy Institute (MPI) said that at least 2.1 million foreign students could be eligible to apply for legal status under the DREAM Act, but only about 825,000 would actually meet the bill's educational and military requirements.


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