The Dream Act has been reintroduced in the U.S. Senate by Senator Dick Durbin and Senator Lisa Murkowski. This bipartisan bill would allow Dreamers, the undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children and have lived in the U.S. for most of their lives, to apply for protection from deportation and an opportunity to obtain legal status if they meet certain requirements.
The Dream Act of 2025 would create a conditional permanent resident status valid for up to eight years for Dreamers and Documented Dreamers that would protect them from deportation, allow them to work legally in the U.S., and permit them to travel outside the country. Later, the Conditional permanent resident status can be changed to lawful permanent resident or green-card holder status.
The bill defines “Documented Dreamers” as the children of non-immigrant E-1, E-2, H-1B, and L visa holders.
The bill would also allow Documented Dreamers, the noncitizens who grew up in the U.S. as visa holders but “aged out” of their parents’ visa status when they turned 21, to obtain legal status. The bill aims to provide stability and a roadmap to citizenship for Dreamers, individuals who have lived, studied, and worked in the United States for most of their lives.
Lawful Status
The bipartisan legislation would allow noncitizens without lawful status who were brought to the United States as children and meet certain education, military service, or work requirements to earn lawful permanent residence.
These young people, known as Dreamers, have lived in America since they were children, built their lives here, and are American in every way except for their immigration status. ‘Dreamers’ in America are those undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children. However, under the current law, there is often no chance for them to ever become citizens.
The legislation also extends relief to “Documented Dreamers,” individuals who grew up in the United States as dependents of long-term visa holders and risk losing their status at age 21 due to lengthy green-card backlogs, leaving many already without protection.
Protections in the Dream Act of 2025 could allow nearly 525,000 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, as well as another two million eligible Dreamers brought to America as children, to stay in the U.S. The bill could also allow 250,000 Documented Dreamers to stay in the U.S. and obtain permanent legal status.
American Dream and Promise Act
Congresswomen Sylvia Garcia and Pramila Jayapal had also reintroduced the bipartisan American Dream and Promise Act of 2025, along with several co-leads, on February 26.
The bipartisan American Dream and Promise Act would provide a pathway to citizenship to Dreamers, undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children.
DACA program has allowed more than 800,000 Dreamers to live, work, and contribute to their communities. A DACA recipient is someone who receives Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a US immigration policy that protects undocumented immigrants who entered the country as children.
DACA recipients pay approximately $6.2 billion in federal taxes and $3.3 billion in state and local taxes annually. The Center for American Progress estimates that the national GDP could grow by $799 billion over the next decade if Dreamers were provided a pathway to citizenship.