Dream Act Passes House, Will Likely Die in Senate

Nancy Pelosi's last gasp:

The House of Representatives passed legislation Wednesday to give hundreds of thousands of foreign-born youngsters brought to America illegally a chance at legal status, a fleeting victory for an effort that appears doomed in the Senate.

The so-called Dream Act, which passed the House 216-198, has been viewed by Hispanic activists and immigrant advocates as a downpayment on what they had hoped would be broader action by President Barack Obama and the Democratic-controlled Congress to give America's 10 million to 12 million undocumented immigrants a chance to gain legal status.

Critics railed against the measure, calling it a backdoor grant of amnesty that would encourage more foreigners to sneak into the United States in hopes of being legalized eventually.

The Senate is expected Thursday to vote on whether to advance similar legislation, but it's unlikely Democrats can muster the 60 votes needed to advance it past opposition by Republicans and a handful of their own members.

"It's an uphill struggle," Sen. Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat, acknowledged.

Harry Reid delayed the Senate vote on the (Dream) Amnesty Act until the House acted because he hopes a victory in the House might persuade some Senators to go his way.  Probably won't work.  The Senate result has been pretty much baked in for awhile and after the election no GOP senators facing election in 2012 will vote for it.

Hopefully the Senate will put a final end to this thing Thursday.