President Obama  Enacted the Dream Act by Executive Order- Truth! & Fiction!

President Obama  Enacted the Dream Act by Executive Order- Truth! & Fiction!

 
Summary of eRumor:
 

This is a forwarded rumor that says the Dream Act, a bill that grants permanent resident status to immigrants under certain conditions, was enacted into law by President Obama by Executive Order on June 24, 2011.

 
The Truth:
There is a Dream Act (H.R.1842 & S. 952 ) and the bill is in still in the committee stage of the legislative process.   In late June 2011, when we first investigated this eRumor,  there was no evidence of any such executive order found on the official White House Executive Order web site.   On June 15, 2012, one year later, during an election year, President Obama announced from the White House Rose Garden that his administration would enacting policy changes to stop the deportation of people who were children when their parents illegally entered and settled in the U.S.  Click for statement.
In the days following the announcement several news agencies have reported that President Obama issued an executive order that bypassed Congress to allow more than 800,000 young people to remain legally in the U.S. without fear of being deported but there has yet to be official executive order on the White House web site. Click for White House Executive Order page.

The Dream Act:

The Dream Act is a bill that was fist introduced in the Senate back in 2001.  This bill would grant conditional permanent resident status for certain long-term residents who entered the united states as children, if they met certain criteria. The word DREAM is an acronym for Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors.
The Hill, a newspaper that reports on the daily business in Congress while it is in session, has been following the progress of this act and in a May 11, 2011 article said the Dream Act would include immigrants whose parents brought them to the United States illegally when they were children.
According to the text of the Dream Act, some of the conditions that must be met by immigrants are that they must currently be residing in the United States and have a “good moral character during the entire period of conditional permanent resident status.”  Eligibility can also be granted to those who have “acquired a degree from an institution of higher education in the United States or has completed at least 2 years, in good standing, in a program for a bachelor’s degree or higher degree in the United States.”  There is also a condition for those who have served or are currently serving in the U. S. Military for at least 2 years.  If they are no longer serving and have been discharged they must show proof of an honorable discharge.

Over the years, the bill has failed to pass in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, which are the two necessary steps for a bill before it can be signed into law by the President.  The Dream act has been brought up a number of times since 2001.  The last time, in 2010 before the 111th Congress under the leadership of Nancy Pelosi.  Congress passed the bill on December 8, 2010 but it was met by tough opposition from the Senate according to an article posted that day in The Hill.

The bill was brought up again before the Senate and the House of Representatives on May 11, 2011 and on June 1 it was referred to the House subcommittee.

Currently the Congressional Bill is HR-1842.  Text of the bill and status information can be found by clicking this link.

The Senate Bill is S-952 and the text of the bill and status information can be found by clicking this link.

updated 6/25/12