House passes Dream Act: 'We have the opportunity to be a part of history'

With chants of “Yes we can” thundering from the rafters, House Democrats on Tuesday powered through legislation to cancel deportations and grant future citizenship rights to millions of illegal immigrants in a vote that nodded more toward 2020 politics than to substantive policymaking.

The 237-187 vote marked the first major legalization bill to pass the House in nearly a decade, and it underscored the ground Democrats feel they have gained on an issue that both sides expect to be at the center of the presidential election.

With President Trump calling for action to solve the crisis at the border, Democrats countered by casting their eyes at the 11 million illegal immigrants who already have crossed and found places in the nation’s shadows.

Democrats singled out more than 2 million of them for legalization. They include “Dreamers” and foreigners in the U.S. under temporary humanitarian protections.

“We have the opportunity to be a part of history, to be on the right side of history,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, as Dreamers and other immigrant rights activists watched from packed viewing galleries. They cheered and chanted as the bill crossed the finish line.

But history is not likely to be made this year.

Republicans who control the Senate won’t bring Mrs. Pelosi’s bill to the floor. They say it ignores the urgent problems at the border and doesn’t include any tools to prevent waves of illegal immigration.

The White House also vowed a veto even if the bill reaches the president’s desk.