	Introduction

Immigration reform has been hotly debated in recent years. Historically less controversial has been legislation known as the "DREAM Act" that proposes a more targeted legalization program to enable certain unauthorized students to obtain legal immigration status. The name DREAM Act derives from the bill title, Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act, but it refers more broadly to a class of measures to provide immigration relief to unauthorized alien students, whether or not particular bills carry that name. While living in the United States, unauthorized alien children are able to receive free public education through high school. More broadly, as unauthorized aliens, they typically are unable to work legally and are subject to removal from the United States. 5281 died at the end of the 111 th Congress. Bills to legalize the status of unauthorized alien students were again introduced in the 112 th Congress. In the 113 th Congress, DREAM Act provisions were incorporated into larger comprehensive immigration reform bills, including the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act ( S. 744 ), and were integrated with other legalization provisions in these bills. As of this writing, no DREAM Act bills have been introduced in the 114 th Congress. Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)

On June 15, 2012, in the absence of congressional action on DREAM Act bills, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a memorandum announcing that certain individuals who were brought to the United States as children and meet other criteria would be considered for deferred action for two years, subject to renewal. Aliens granted deferred action can apply for employment authorization. The program is administered by DHS's U.S. Under the House bill, as under the Senate bill, an alien would have needed to demonstrate that he or she had been continuously physically present in the United States for not less than five years immediately preceding the date of enactment of the act; was age 15 or younger at the time of initial entry; had been a person of good moral character since the time of initial entry; and had been admitted to an institution of higher education in the United States or had earned a high school diploma or the equivalent in the United States. Aliens granted cancellation of removal under H.R. 5869 contained no provisions on the eligibility of aliens who were granted relief under its provisions for federal student financial aid. 15 ), as introduced in the House, included the same DREAM Act language. 15 proposed to establish a general legalization program for unauthorized aliens in the United States, with a special "DREAM Act" pathway to LPR status for certain aliens who entered the country as children. On December 8, 2010, the House approved DREAM Act language as part of an unrelated bill, the Removal Clarification Act of 2010 ( H.R. On December 18, 2010, the Senate failed to invoke cloture on a motion to agree to the House-passed DREAM Act amendment. 5281 was the same as the text of the DREAM Act of 2010 ( H.R. Unlike some other DREAM Act bills introduced in the 111 th Congress, the House-approved DREAM Act language would not have repealed IIRIRA Section 505 and thus would not have eliminated this statutory restriction on state provision of postsecondary educational benefits to unlawfully present aliens (see " 1996 Provision ").
Immigration reform has been hotly debated in recent years. Broadly construed, it encompasses a range of issues, including the highly controversial question of legalizing large numbers of unauthorized immigrants in the United States. A historically less controversial, more targeted legalization proposal has been included in "DREAM Act" legislation, which seeks to enable certain unauthorized aliens who entered the United States as children to obtain legal immigration status. The name DREAM Act derives from the bill title, Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act, but it refers more broadly to a class of measures to provide immigration relief to unauthorized students, whether or not particular bills carry that name.
Unauthorized aliens in the United States are able to receive free public education through high school. They may experience difficulty obtaining higher education, however, for several reasons. Among these reasons is a provision enacted in 1996 that places restrictions on state provision of certain postsecondary educational benefits on the basis of state residence to aliens who are unlawfully present in the United States, unless equal benefits are made available to all U.S. citizens. This language is commonly understood to apply to the granting of "in-state" residency status for tuition purposes. In addition, unauthorized alien students are not eligible for federal student financial aid. More broadly, as unauthorized aliens, they typically are not legally allowed to work and are subject to being removed from the country.
Multiple DREAM Act bills have been introduced in recent Congresses to address the unauthorized student population. Most have proposed a two-prong approach of repealing the 1996 provision and enabling some unauthorized alien students to become U.S. lawful permanent residents (LPRs) through an immigration procedure known as cancellation of removal. While there are other options for dealing with this population, this report deals exclusively with the DREAM Act approach in light of the considerable congressional interest in it.
In the 111th Congress, the House approved DREAM Act language as part of an unrelated bill, the Removal Clarification Act of 2010 (H.R. 5281). The Senate, however, failed to invoke cloture on a motion to agree to the House-passed DREAM Act amendment, and the bill died at the end of the Congress. The House-approved language differed in key respects from earlier versions of the DREAM Act. Bills to legalize the status of unauthorized alien students were again introduced in the 112th Congress.
In 2012, in the absence of congressional action on DREAM Act legislation, the Obama Administration announced that certain individuals who entered the United States as children and meet other criteria would be considered for relief from removal. Under a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) memorandum, these individuals can apply for consideration of deferred action for childhood arrivals (or DACA, as the program is known) and for employment authorization.
DREAM Act language was considered in the 113th Congress as part of comprehensive immigration reform legislation. The Senate-passed Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act (S. 744) included DREAM Act provisions. The same DREAM Act language was included in a related bill with the same name introduced in the House (H.R. 15). The DREAM Act provisions were integrated with the broader legalization provisions in these bills. As of this writing, no DREAM Act bills have been introduced in the 114th Congress.