Sens. Lindsey Graham, Dick Durbin Team Up on DREAM Act Amnesty Bill

It's another new Congress, which means another chance for Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., to push for a matter that is counter to the conservative base of the Republican Party: amnesty for illegal immigrants.

Graham is teaming with Senate Judiciary Committee chair Dick Durbin, D-Ill., to introduce the DREAM Act of 2023, which would allow illegal immigrants brought to the U.S. as children who meet certain education or work requirements to earn permanent residence.

Durbin and Graham have introduced identical legislation in each of the past three sessions of Congress without success.

But Graham, the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, has consistently said his support for such legislation depends on measures taken to address the crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border.

"While I continue to support relief for DREAMers, I hope my Democratic colleagues understand we must repair a broken border and address a tsunami of illegal immigration before that is remotely possible," Graham said Monday in a news release. "The DREAMers represent a class of illegal immigrants that have much public support because they were minors brought here by their parents and America has become their home.