II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2075 

To amend the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility 

Act of 1996 to permit States to determine State residency for higher 

education purposes and to authorize the cancellation of removal and 

adjustment of status of certain alien students who are long-term United 

States residents and who entered the United States as children, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 18, 2005 

Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. HAGEL, Mr. LUGAR, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. 

MCCAIN, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. COLEMAN, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Mr. CRAIG, Mr. 

FEINGOLD, Mr. DEWINE, Mr. OBAMA, and Mr. CRAPO) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the 

Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant 

Responsibility Act of 1996 to permit States to determine 

State residency for higher education purposes and to 

authorize the cancellation of removal and adjustment 

of status of certain alien students who are long-term 

United States residents and who entered the United 

States as children, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Development, Relief, 

3 and Education for Alien Minors Act of 2005’’ or the 

4 ‘‘DREAM Act of 2005’’. 

5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

6 In this Act: 

7 (1) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

8 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

9 meaning given that term in section 101 of the High10 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

11 (2) UNIFORMED SERVICES.—The term ‘‘uni12 formed services’’ has the meaning given that term in 

13 section 101(a) of title 10, United States Code. 

14 SEC. 3. RESTORATION OF STATE OPTION TO DETERMINE 

15 RESIDENCY FOR PURPOSES OF HIGHER EDU16 CATION BENEFITS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 505 of the Illegal Immi18 gration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 

19 (8 U.S.C. 1623) is repealed. 

20 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The repeal under subsection 

21 (a) shall take effect as if included in the enactment of the 

22 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility 

23 Act of 1996. 
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1 SEC. 4. CANCELLATION OF REMOVAL AND ADJUSTMENT OF 

2 STATUS OF CERTAIN LONG-TERM RESIDENTS 

3 WHO ENTERED THE UNITED STATES AS CHIL4 DREN. 

5 (a) SPECIAL RULE FOR CERTAIN LONG-TERM RESI6 DENTS WHO ENTERED THE UNITED STATES AS CHIL7 DREN.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

9 provision of law and except as otherwise provided in 

10 this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security may 

11 cancel removal of, and adjust to the status of an 

12 alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence, 

13 subject to the conditional basis described in section 

14 5, an alien who is inadmissible or deportable from 

15 the United States, if the alien demonstrates that— 

16 (A) the alien has been physically present in 

17 the United States for a continuous period of 

18 not less than 5 years immediately preceding the 

19 date of enactment of this Act, and had not yet 

20 reached the age of 16 years at the time of ini21 tial entry; 

22 (B) the alien has been a person of good 

23 moral character since the time of application; 

24 (C) the alien— 

25 (i) is not inadmissible under para26 graph (2), (3), (6)(B), (6)(C), (6)(E), 
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1 (6)(F), or (6)(G) of section 212(a) of the 

2 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

3 1182(a)), or, if inadmissible solely under 

4 subparagraph (C) or (F) of paragraph (6) 

5 of such subsection, the alien was under the 

6 age of 16 years at the time the violation 

7 was committed; and 

8 (ii) is not deportable under paragraph 

9 (1)(E), (1)(G), (2), (3)(B), (3)(C), (3)(D), 

10 (4), or (6) of section 237(a) of the Immi11 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

12 1227(a)), or, if deportable solely under 

13 subparagraphs (C) or (D) of paragraph (3) 

14 of such subsection, the alien was under the 

15 age of 16 years at the time the violation 

16 was committed; 

17 (D) the alien, at the time of application, 

18 has been admitted to an institution of higher 

19 education in the United States, or has earned 

20 a high school diploma or obtained a general 

21 education development certificate in the United 

22 States; and 

23 (E) the alien has never been under a final 

24 administrative or judicial order of exclusion, de25 portation, or removal, unless the alien has re-
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1 mained in the United States under color of law 

2 or received the order before attaining the age of 

3 16 years. 

4 (2) WAIVER.—The Secretary of Homeland Se5 curity may waive the grounds of ineligibility under 

6 section 212(a)(6) of the Immigration and Nation7 ality Act and the grounds of deportability under 

8 paragraphs (1), (3), and (6) of section 237(a) of 

9 that Act for humanitarian purposes or family unity 

10 or when it is otherwise in the public interest. 

11 (3) PROCEDURES.—The Secretary of Homeland 

12 Security shall provide a procedure by regulation al13 lowing eligible individuals to apply affirmatively for 

14 the relief available under this subsection without 

15 being placed in removal proceedings. 

16 (b) TERMINATION OF CONTINUOUS PERIOD.—For 

17 purposes of this section, any period of continuous resi18 dence or continuous physical presence in the United States 

19 of an alien who applies for cancellation of removal under 

20 this section shall not terminate when the alien is served 

21 a notice to appear under section 239(a) of the Immigra22 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1229(a)). 

23 (c) TREATMENT OF CERTAIN BREAKS IN PRES24 ENCE.— 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—An alien shall be considered 

2 to have failed to maintain continuous physical pres3 ence in the United States under subsection (a) if the 

4 alien has departed from the United States for any 

5 period in excess of 90 days or for any periods in the 

6 aggregate exceeding 180 days. 

7 (2) EXTENSIONS FOR EXCEPTIONAL CIR8 CUMSTANCES.—The Secretary of Homeland Security 

9 may extend the time periods described in paragraph 

10 (1) if the alien demonstrates that the failure to time11 ly return to the United States was due to excep12 tional circumstances. The exceptional circumstances 

13 determined sufficient to justify an extension should 

14 be no less compelling than serious illness of the 

15 alien, or death or serious illness of a parent, grand16 parent, sibling, or child. 

17 (d) EXEMPTION FROM NUMERICAL LIMITATIONS.— 

18 Nothing in this section may be construed to apply a nu19 merical limitation on the number of aliens who may be 

20 eligible for cancellation of removal or adjustment of status 

21 under this section. 

22 (e) REGULATIONS.— 

23 (1) PROPOSED REGULATIONS.—Not later than 

24 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

25 Secretary of Homeland Security shall publish pro-
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1 posed regulations implementing this section. Such 

2 regulations shall be effective immediately on an in3 terim basis, but are subject to change and revision 

4 after public notice and opportunity for a period for 

5 public comment. 

6 (2) INTERIM, FINAL REGULATIONS.—Within a 

7 reasonable time after publication of the interim reg8 ulations in accordance with paragraph (1), the Sec9 retary of Homeland Security shall publish final regu10 lations implementing this section. 

11 (f) REMOVAL OF ALIEN.—The Secretary of Home12 land Security may not remove any alien who has a pending 

13 application for conditional status under this Act. 

14 SEC. 5. CONDITIONAL PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

16 (1) CONDITIONAL BASIS FOR STATUS.—Not17 withstanding any other provision of law, and except 

18 as provided in section 6, an alien whose status has 

19 been adjusted under section 4 to that of an alien 

20 lawfully admitted for permanent residence shall be 

21 considered to have obtained such status on a condi22 tional basis subject to the provisions of this section. 

23 Such conditional permanent resident status shall be 

24 valid for a period of 6 years, subject to termination 

25 under subsection (b). 
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1 (2) NOTICE OF REQUIREMENTS.— 

2 (A) AT TIME OF OBTAINING PERMANENT

3 RESIDENCE.—At the time an alien obtains per4 manent resident status on a conditional basis 

5 under paragraph (1), the Secretary of Home6 land Security shall provide for notice to the 

7 alien regarding the provisions of this section 

8 and the requirements of subsection (c) to have 

9 the conditional basis of such status removed. 

10 (B) EFFECT OF FAILURE TO PROVIDE NO11 TICE.—The failure of the Secretary of Home12 land Security to provide a notice under this 

13 paragraph— 

14 (i) shall not affect the enforcement of 

15 the provisions of this Act with respect to 

16 the alien; and 

17 (ii) shall not give rise to any private 

18 right of action by the alien. 

19 (b) TERMINATION OF STATUS.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland 

21 Security shall terminate the conditional permanent 

22 resident status of any alien who obtained such sta23 tus under this Act, if the Secretary determines that 

24 the alien— 
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1 (A) ceases to meet the requirements of 

2 subparagraph (B) or (C) of section 4(a)(1); 

3 (B) has become a public charge; or 

4 (C) has received a dishonorable or other 

5 than honorable discharge from the uniformed 

6 services. 

7 (2) RETURN TO PREVIOUS IMMIGRATION STA8 TUS.—Any alien whose conditional permanent resi9 dent status is terminated under paragraph (1) shall 

10 return to the immigration status the alien had im11 mediately prior to receiving conditional permanent 

12 resident status under this Act. 

13 (c) REQUIREMENTS OF TIMELY PETITION FOR RE14 MOVAL OF CONDITION.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—In order for the conditional 

16 basis of permanent resident status obtained by an 

17 alien under subsection (a) to be removed, the alien 

18 must file with the Secretary of Homeland Security, 

19 in accordance with paragraph (3), a petition which 

20 requests the removal of such conditional basis and 

21 which provides, under penalty of perjury, the facts 

22 and information so that the Secretary may make the 

23 determination described in paragraph (2)(A). 

24 (2) ADJUDICATION OF PETITION TO REMOVE

25 CONDITION.— 
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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—If a petition is filed in 

2 accordance with paragraph (1) for an alien, the 

3 Secretary of Homeland Security shall make a 

4 determination as to whether the alien meets the 

5 requirements set out in subparagraphs (A) 

6 through (E) of subsection (d)(1). 

7 (B) REMOVAL OF CONDITIONAL BASIS IF

8 FAVORABLE DETERMINATION.—If the Secretary 

9 determines that the alien meets such require10 ments, the Secretary shall notify the alien of 

11 such determination and immediately remove the 

12 conditional basis of the status of the alien. 

13 (C) TERMINATION IF ADVERSE DETER14 MINATION.—If the Secretary determines that 

15 the alien does not meet such requirements, the 

16 Secretary shall notify the alien of such deter17 mination and terminate the conditional perma18 nent resident status of the alien as of the date 

19 of the determination. 

20 (3) TIME TO FILE PETITION.—An alien may pe21 tition to remove the conditional basis to lawful resi22 dent status during the period beginning 180 days 

23 before and ending 2 years after either the date that 

24 is 6 years after the date of the granting of condi25 tional permanent resident status or any other expi-
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1 ration date of the conditional permanent resident 

2 status as extended by the Secretary of Homeland 

3 Security in accordance with this Act. The alien shall 

4 be deemed in conditional permanent resident status 

5 in the United States during the period in which the 

6 petition is pending. 

7 (d) DETAILS OF PETITION.— 

8 (1) CONTENTS OF PETITION.—Each petition 

9 for an alien under subsection (c)(1) shall contain in10 formation to permit the Secretary of Homeland Se11 curity to determine whether each of the following re12 quirements is met: 

13 (A) The alien has demonstrated good 

14 moral character during the entire period the 

15 alien has been a conditional permanent resi16 dent. 

17 (B) The alien is in compliance with section 

18 4(a)(1)(C). 

19 (C) The alien has not abandoned the 

20 alien’s residence in the United States. The Sec21 retary shall presume that the alien has aban22 doned such residence if the alien is absent from 

23 the United States for more than 365 days, in 

24 the aggregate, during the period of conditional 

25 residence, unless the alien demonstrates that 
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1 alien has not abandoned the alien’s residence. 

2 An alien who is absent from the United States 

3 due to active service in the uniformed services 

4 has not abandoned the alien’s residence in the 

5 United States during the period of such service. 

6 (D) The alien has completed at least 1 of 

7 the following: 

8 (i) The alien has acquired a degree 

9 from an institution of higher education in 

10 the United States or has completed at 

11 least 2 years, in good standing, in a pro12 gram for a bachelor’s degree or higher de13 gree in the United States. 

14 (ii) The alien has served in the uni15 formed services for at least 2 years and, if 

16 discharged, has received an honorable dis17 charge. 

18 (E) The alien has provided a list of all of 

19 the secondary educational institutions that the 

20 alien attended in the United States. 

21 (2) HARDSHIP EXCEPTION.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of 

23 Homeland Security may, in the Secretary’s dis24 cretion, remove the conditional status of an 

25 alien if the alien— 
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1 (i) satisfies the requirements of sub2 paragraphs (A), (B), and (C) of paragraph 

3 (1); 

4 (ii) demonstrates compelling cir5 cumstances for the inability to complete 

6 the requirements described in paragraph 

7 (1)(D); and 

8 (iii) demonstrates that the alien’s re9 moval from the United States would result 

10 in exceptional and extremely unusual hard11 ship to the alien or the alien’s spouse, par12 ent, or child who is a citizen or a lawful 

13 permanent resident of the United States. 

14 (B) EXTENSION.—Upon a showing of good 

15 cause, the Secretary of Homeland Security may 

16 extend the period of the conditional resident 

17 status for the purpose of completing the re18 quirements described in paragraph (1)(D). 

19 (e) TREATMENT OF PERIOD FOR PURPOSES OF NAT20 URALIZATION.—For purposes of title III of the Immigra21 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1401 et seq.), in the 

22 case of an alien who is in the United States as a lawful 

23 permanent resident on a conditional basis under this sec24 tion, the alien shall be considered to have been admitted 

25 as an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence and 
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1 to be in the United States as an alien lawfully admitted 

2 to the United States for permanent residence. However, 

3 the conditional basis must be removed before the alien 

4 may apply for naturalization. 

5 SEC. 6. RETROACTIVE BENEFITS UNDER THIS ACT. 

6 If, on the date of enactment of this Act, an alien has 

7 satisfied all the requirements of subparagraphs (A) 

8 through (E) of section 4(a)(1) and section 5(d)(1)(D), the 

9 Secretary of Homeland Security may adjust the status of 

10 the alien to that of a conditional resident in accordance 

11 with section 4. The alien may petition for removal of such 

12 condition at the end of the conditional residence period 

13 in accordance with section 5(c) if the alien has met the 

14 requirements of subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) of sec15 tion 5(d)(1) during the entire period of conditional resi16 dence. 

17 SEC. 7. EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu19 rity shall have exclusive jurisdiction to determine eligibility 

20 for relief under this Act, except where the alien has been 

21 placed into deportation, exclusion, or removal proceedings 

22 either prior to or after filing an application for relief under 

23 this Act, in which case the Attorney General shall have 

24 exclusive jurisdiction and shall assume all the powers and 

25 duties of the Secretary until proceedings are terminated, 
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1 or if a final order of deportation, exclusion, or removal 

2 is entered the Secretary shall resume all powers and duties 

3 delegated to the Secretary under this Act. 

4 (b) STAY OF REMOVAL OF CERTAIN ALIENS EN5 ROLLED IN PRIMARY OR SECONDARY SCHOOL.—The At6 torney General shall stay the removal proceedings of any 

7 alien who— 

8 (1) meets all the requirements of subpara9 graphs (A), (B), (C), and (E) of section 4(a)(1); 

10 (2) is at least 12 years of age; and 

11 (3) is enrolled full time in a primary or sec12 ondary school. 

13 (c) EMPLOYMENT.—An alien whose removal is stayed 

14 pursuant to subsection (b) may be engaged in employment 

15 in the United States, consistent with the Fair Labor 

16 Standards Act (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.), and State and 

17 local laws governing minimum age for employment. 

18 (d) LIFT OF STAY.—The Attorney General shall lift 

19 the stay granted pursuant to subsection (b) if the alien— 

20 (1) is no longer enrolled in a primary or sec21 ondary school; or 

22 (2) ceases to meet the requirements of sub23 section (b)(1). 
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1 SEC. 8. PENALTIES FOR FALSE STATEMENTS IN APPLICA2 TION. 

3 Whoever files an application for relief under this Act 

4 and willfully and knowingly falsifies, misrepresents, or 

5 conceals a material fact or makes any false or fraudulent 

6 statement or representation, or makes or uses any false 

7 writing or document knowing the same to contain any 

8 false or fraudulent statement or entry, shall be fined in 

9 accordance with title 18, United States Code, or impris10 oned not more than 5 years, or both. 

11 SEC. 9. CONFIDENTIALITY OF INFORMATION. 

12 (a) PROHIBITION.—No officer or employee of the 

13 United States may— 

14 (1) use the information furnished by the appli15 cant pursuant to an application filed under this Act 

16 to initiate removal proceedings against any persons 

17 identified in the application; 

18 (2) make any publication whereby the informa19 tion furnished by any particular individual pursuant 

20 to an application under this Act can be identified; or 

21 (3) permit anyone other than an officer or em22 ployee of the United States Government or, in the 

23 case of applications filed under this Act with a des24 ignated entity, that designated entity, to examine 

25 applications filed under this Act. 
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1 (b) REQUIRED DISCLOSURE.—The Attorney General 

2 or the Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide the 

3 information furnished under this section, and any other 

4 information derived from such furnished information, to— 

5 (1) a duly recognized law enforcement entity in 

6 connection with an investigation or prosecution of an 

7 offense described in paragraph (2) or (3) of section 

8 212(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

9 U.S.C. 1182(a)), when such information is requested 

10 in writing by such entity; or 

11 (2) an official coroner for purposes of affirma12 tively identifying a deceased individual (whether or 

13 not such individual is deceased as a result of a 

14 crime). 

15 (c) PENALTY.—Whoever knowingly uses, publishes, 

16 or permits information to be examined in violation of this 

17 section shall be fined not more than $10,000. 

18 SEC. 10. EXPEDITED PROCESSING OF APPLICATIONS; PRO19 HIBITION ON FEES. 

20 Regulations promulgated under this Act shall provide 

21 that applications under this Act will be considered on an 

22 expedited basis and without a requirement for the pay23 ment by the applicant of any additional fee for such expe24 dited processing. 
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1 SEC. 11. HIGHER EDUCATION ASSISTANCE. 

2 Notwithstanding any provision of the Higher Edu3 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.), with respect 

4 to assistance provided under title IV of the Higher Edu5 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.), an alien who 

6 adjusts status to that of a lawful permanent resident 

7 under this Act shall be eligible only for the following as8 sistance under such title: 

9 (1) Student loans under parts B, D, and E of 

10 such title IV (20 U.S.C. 1071 et seq., 1087a et seq., 

11 1087aa et seq.), subject to the requirements of such 

12 parts. 

13 (2) Federal work-study programs under part C 

14 of such title IV (42 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.), subject to 

15 the requirements of such part. 

16 (3) Services under such title IV (20 U.S.C. 

17 1070 et seq.), subject to the requirements for such 

18 services. 

19 SEC. 12. GAO REPORT. 

20 Seven years after the date of enactment of this Act, 

21 the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit 

22 a report to the Committees on the Judiciary of the Senate 

23 and the House of Representatives setting forth— 

24 (1) the number of aliens who were eligible for 

25 cancellation of removal and adjustment of status 

26 under section 4(a); 
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1 (2) the number of aliens who applied for adjust2 ment of status under section 4(a); 

3 (3) the number of aliens who were granted ad4 justment of status under section 4(a); and 

5 (4) the number of aliens whose conditional per6 manent resident status was removed under section 

7 5. 

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