Obama officials keep pushing DREAM Act

By: Scott Wong
December 3, 2010 02:11 PM EST

The Obama administration has trotted out a parade of top officials to push the long-shot DREAM Act in recent days, even as tax, spending and defense issues dominate the lame-duck session.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan this week said the immigration bill would enable thousands of young, undocumented immigrants to go on to college, while Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano argued it would help her agency enforce immigration laws.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates recently said the DREAM Act would boost military recruitment since the legislation would provide a path to citizenship for some young illegal immigrants who attend college or join the military for two years.

And on Friday, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke made the case that the DREAM Act makes good economic sense. He said 65,000 students graduate from publicly funded schools each year but can’t go to college or get good jobs because of their illegal status.

“The American taxpayer has invested in them, and unless we pass the DREAM Act, we will keep throwing away this hard-earned investment,â€