Speech #1100097067

Act establishes a seamless process to take illegal aliens directly from illegal status to conditional permanent resident status. then to legal permanent resident status. and then the next step. of course. is citizenship. First. illegal aliens who came here before age 16 and have been here illegally for the past 5 years will be given "conditional" permanent residence. or green cards. if they have been admitted to an institution of higher education or have a GED. or have a high school diploma. The "conditional" green card. which is good for 6 years. will be converted to a full green card. A green card means you have a legal permanent residence status in America. In this case it would be a direct result of an illegal entry into the United States. or an illegal overstay. It will be converted to a full green card if the alien completes 2 years of a bachelors degree or serves 2 years in the uniformed services. This is broader than the term "military service." as people have said. "Uniformed services." as defined by title 10. includes the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps and the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. in addition to the military. Or they would qualify if they cant do those because of hardship. After 5 years of "conditional." or full green card permanent status. the 53. Pt. 18 24627 aliens amnestied under the DREAM Act will be eligible for citizenship. We are also expanding. through this amendment. if it is to be adopted. immigration into the country based on an illegal action in a number of ways. There is nothing in the DREAM Act that limits the ability of the Illegal aliens who are being provided permanent status and citizenship here to bring in their family members. Once an illegal alien becomes a legal resident under the act. they can immigrate their spouses and their children. As soon as the illegal alien becomes a citizen. he or she will be able to bring in. to immigrate their parents to the country as a matter of right. So there is no numerical limit to the number of parents a citizen can immigrate into the United States. I think that is one of the flaws In our current law. The reason that Is Important is because we are generous in Immigration. We allow a million or more a year to come legally into our country. We do provide quite a number of generous provisions that allow people to come.