The U.S. Senate is expected to vote tomorrow on the immigration bill known as the DREAM Act. The measure would grant legal status to students and members of the armed forces brought to this country illegally as children. A San Fernando Valley congressman says the vote may hinge upon comes what he calls the “crass” subject of politics over policy.
Congressman Howard Berman, D-Van Nuys, sponsored the House version of the DREAM Act. He says he was nervous about the result and pleased to see the measure pass by 18 votes in the House. He says there is "no doubt that a majority of the Senate would vote for the DREAM Act."
The question is whether his party has the 60 votes it needs to avert a filibuster.
Berman says plenty of Republicans in the Senate know what he calls the “right thing to do” - since they did it once before.
He says there are twelve Republicans who either "voted for or cosponsored not this DREAM Act, but an even more expansive DREAM Act."
Critics of the DREAM Act say the measure rewards bad behavior and encourages future waves of illegal immigration.
