John McCain has co-sponsored several previous versions of the DREAM Act, including the far more liberal 2003 version that didn't have an age cap. The much narrower legislation under consideration this year, which would offer a path to citizenship for immigrants who are college-bound and willing to serve the military now has a cutoff age of 29, eliminating the incentive for children to force their parents across the border so they can do well in school or join the U.S. military.
Among those to whom McCain promised support of the bill was DREAM activist Gaby Pacheco. This, according to Elise Foley, is how he responds to her now:
A few days before the Senate left for the Thanksgiving break, Pacheco met the new McCain when she tried to lobby him on the DREAM Act, the bill he'd once championed.
When Pacheco approached McCain, she said, he dismissed her and threatened to call the Capitol Police on her if she continued to follow him.
As he entered an elevator, the DREAM Act supporters told the senator that all they want is to serve their country.
"Go serve them then," McCain told them, according to Pacheco.
Nice. McCain isn't the only Republican opposed to a far less ambitious DREAM Act now that chief socialist Obama is in charge, the list of 2003 co-sponsors includes several senators still in Congress, including Susan Collins, Chuck Grassley, Orrin Hatch, Richard Lugar, and now-opposed Democrat Mark Pryor.
Keep in mind, the 2003 version of the bill repealed the prohibition on unauthorized immigrants paying in-state tuition rates, provided a six-year path to citizenship, and had no cap. The new version leaves the ban intact, provides a 13-year path to citizenship, and is a onetime deal. But the latter is "amnesty" that can't seem to draw any Republican support!