http://conservativeactionalerts.com/blog_post/show/1905The death of the DREAM Act has not discouraged Rep. Joe Baca, a Democrat from California, who is pushing the PROUD Act.
Baca’s measure would allow undocumented high school graduates to apply for U.S. citizenship if they demonstrate civil knowledge and, other than their immigration status, have had no trouble with the law.
“The PROUD Act is important legislation that puts our most responsible and successful immigrant students on a streamlined path for citizenship,” Baca said, “and at the same time motivates all our students to do their best and to stay out of trouble.”
Asked to comment on the Baca measure, the office of Rep. Lamar Smith, the Texas Republican who chairs the House Judiciary Committee – which is expected to influence much of the immigration debate in Congress -- sent a statement that said: “It is pointless to talk about any new immigration bills that grant amnesty, no matter how narrow, until we secure the border since such bills will only encourage more illegal immigration.”
The DREAM Act, which stands for Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors, passed in the House of Representatives, but not the Senate, in the lame-duck session in December. DREAM Act supporters saw the lame-duck session – where Democrats, who generally favored the bill, still had control of the House -- as holding out the last, best chance for passage of the bill.