DREAM Act Includes Loophole for Criminals

Guy Benson | December 09, 2010 7:42 AM

House Democrats knew all about this before they passed their lame duck amnesty measure last night, leaving it up to the Senate to kill this bad DREAM later today. Aside from the unpleasant facts that it (a) constitutes a massive Democratic pander to Hispanic voters, (b) has a multi-billion dollar price tag that isn't paid for, and (c) it's an unapologetic, undisguised

amnesty bill for crying out loud, DREAM also includes a largely unscrutinized provision that would allow illegal aliens who have committed certain crimes to avoid deportation:

According to a memo circulated by GOP aides on the Senate Judiciary Committee, there are a host of crimes illegal immigrants would be allowed to commit and still qualify -- assault, domestic violence, sexual abuse, reckless driving and various types of fraud among them.

"Talk about misplaced priorities. In the middle of a deep recession, with taxes about to increase, Democrat leaders in Washington are asking Americans to pick up the tab for a proposal that would offer amnesty to millions -- including those with criminal records," said Stephen Miller, a spokesman for Judiciary Committee Republicans.

The list of permissible crimes would depend on the circumstance, but the way the bill is written, it allows a potential applicant to have committed up to two misdemeanors. Specifically, anybody convicted of a federal or state offense carrying a sentence of one year or less, or anybody convicted of up to two offenses with a combined sentence of under 90 days, could be eligible.

Most Senate watchers expect Democratic attempts to invoke cloture on DREAM to fail. If wavering Senators need any last minute persuasion to beat back the bill, this report should do the job.