The Obama Administration announced today that it will stop deporting and start granting work permits to younger illegal immigrants who meet specific criteria. The new policy is consistent with the DREAM Act, legislation to streamline the legalization process for young undocumented immigrants. That legislation has stalled in Congress since December 2010, when the Senate bill fell short (55 to 41) of the 60 votes needed to prevent a Republican filibuster. (For background on this issue, see the November 2010 Congressional Digest, “The DREAM Act.”) Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano announced the new policy, stating: “Our Nation’s immigration laws must…

Congressional Digest covered 10 important domestic issues in 2010, from consumer financial protection to child nutrition. Some of those topics – such as Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and the DREAM Act immigration bill – are still being hotly debated during the final days of the session. Here’s an update on all these issues as the 111th Conngress winds down.

Congress has a full plate of unfinished business to consider during the lame duck session, which begins November 15, continues for a week, and then resumes after Thanksgiving. Congressional Digest and International Debates have covered many of the issues on this agenda.

Before his re-election as the senior senator from Nevada, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid vowed to bring the DREAM Act to the Senate floor during the lame duck session. The legislation – the full title of which is the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act – would provide higher education opportunities and a path to citizenship to undocumented alien students who were brought to America as minors.