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Dream Act has been re-introduced in Congress, marking the latest effort since 2001

The United States Capitol building in Washington. D.C., seen at sunset
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Lawmakers say the Dream Act has been re-introduced in Congress, marking the latest effort since 2001 to create a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children.

The measure was introduced by Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla of California, and Sen. Dick Durbin — a Democrat from Illinois who has introduced versions of the measure every session since its inception in 2001.

The measure has never passed — but it did help carve the road for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA. The Obama-era initiative that provided some 850,000 undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children temporary protection from deportation and a work permit, but no path to citizenship.

This year’s Dream Act introduction comes as those protections are waning — as the AP reports, at least 20 DACA recipients have been detained by immigration authorities this year — despite their status.

More Immigration News

Alisa Reznick is a senior field correspondent covering stories across southern Arizona and the borderlands for the Tucson bureau of KJZZ's Fronteras Desk.