Rubio sidelines DREAM Act

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WASHINGTON, June 18 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said Monday he is shelving his campaign for congressional passage of the DREAM Act until after the November election.

Rubio told The National Review President Barack Obama's announcement Friday -- that deportation hearings will be suspended in cases of undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children and grew up here -- amounted to governing "by fiat," The Hill reported.

The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors [DREAM] Act is intended to help such people, and Rubio told The Wall Street Journal "it is going to be hard to argue against" the proposition that, as a result of the president's decision, there is no urgency "do anything on this now. It has been dealt with. We can wait until after the election."

Congressional passage of the legislation would have been far from assured, given bipartisan skepticism about the bill, Politico said, but political analysts have said the measure could draw some GOP support because Republicans might be able to use the bill to gain favor with Latino voters, and because of a perception Rubio is a leading contender for the vice presidential spot on the GOP ticket, Politico said.

Rubio told the Review there is a "growing sentiment" that children who grew up in the United States should be allowed to stay.

"If you were 4 years old when your parents brought you here illegally, and you have grown up here your whole life and don't even speak Spanish, and you are your high school's valedictorian, you have a lot to contribute to our future," he said. "It kind of feels weird to deport you."