DREAM Act: Durbin trying again on immigration measure

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) is trying again to get the DREAM Act passed, re-introducing the measure on Wednesday to let some immigrant students in the U.S. illegally stay in the country. Durbin, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), and Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and others will be on the bill.

Last December, after passing the House (then under Democratic control) the measure fell five votes short in the Senate and Durbin vowed to keep trying. The Durbin press conference comes a day after President Obama boosted the DREAM Act in an immigration speech in Texas, along the U.S./Mexico border where he called for various reforms.

When Durbin starts an issue, he stays with it. On Sept. 10, 2001, Durbin launched his fight to allow students of illegal immigrants to stay in the U.S. at a press conference in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood. The DREAM Act became part of a larger national debate on the hot button, divisive immigration issue.