Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV) spoke at a LIBRE Initiative event over the weekend, and Dreamers and advocates in attendance demanded the Senator to support a clean Dream Act by the end of the year.
Heller answered a question about DACA as part of the event, and said that he supports passing pro-Dreamer legislation by the end of the year. As he stated:
I supported comprehensive immigration reform the last time it came up. I believe there has to be a process where we can move forward. First and foremost on our agenda is to take care of the DACA immigrants. We can achieve that by the end of the year.
At the end of his remarks, however, advocates stood up to interrupt the event and point out that Heller has not met with Dreamers and has not committed to a clean Dream Act.
Though Heller has supported the Dream Act (and comprehensive immigration reform) before, he is not a co-sponsor of this year’s Dream Act. He has not made it clear whether he would vote for a clean Dream Act or whether he wants border security or other measures to be part of the legislative package. And he has not been a leader for the Dream Act or other Dreamer-related measures. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), for example, asked Senate leadership to commit to a discussion on a DACA fix in exchange for his vote on the tax bill this weekend. When asked about that, Sen. Heller merely said that “I’m just as committed as Jeff is to resolve this particular problem.”
You can watch video of the DACA question, Heller’s answer, and the interruption from advocates, below (courtesy of La Firma):
Heller was a guest of The LIBRE Initiative’s Forum series, which is intended to “inform Hispanics about policies that affect them, and to provide them with the tools they need to build better lives.”
