WASHINGTON, DC - A broad spectrum of the Democratic Senate caucus yesterday issued a letter to President Obama urging him to use his authority and grant relief from deportation to young people who would be eligible for the DREAM Act. The twenty-two senators wrote that they "would support a grant of deferred action" and other measures to grant relief to qualified DREAM students and reiterated their support for the DREAM Act, which passed the House of Representatives and received the support of 55 Senators last December, yet failed to receive the necessary 60 votes in the Senate to overcome a Republican filibuster and become law.

According to Frank Sharry, Executive Director of America’s Voice, “In this letter, Democrats are banding together to call for a common sense change in administration policy, one that would allow talented young people to remain in the only country they know as home. Although the DREAM Act failed to become law last year, it had the support of a majority of Members of the House and the Senate, and only failed because of the Republican Party’s short-sightedness and insular thinking on the immigration issue. Today Democrats from across the political spectrum are taking a bold stand to support immigration relief for young people who are Americans in every way but their citizenship. It serves no one to deport these young men and women who simply want a chance to go to college or join the military, and give back to this great nation. The Administration should embrace the Senators’ proposal, which lays out practical ways that DHS can change the way it treats DREAM-eligible young people until Congress passes comprehensive immigration reform.”

The 22 signers of the letter reflect a range of viewpoints and constituencies ...