Dreamers Could Be Professionally Licensed, if One Politician Has Her Way

Hard to believe, but here it is: New Jersey state Sen. Nellie Pou, a Democrat, introduced a bill earlier this week to allow “certain undocumented immigrants to obtain professional and occupational licenses” in the Garden State.

But wait, there’s more.

Here are the details: “This bill would allow certain undocumented immigrants, including those who came to the United States as minors and are commonly referred to as ‘dreamers,’ to obtain professional and occupational licenses. In order to be eligible to obtain a professional or occupational license under this act, an individual would have to meet the licensing qualification criteria for the license sought by the dreamer, other than citizenship, immigrant or lawful presence status in the United States.”

The last part of that is the most compelling and worrisome.

Said Pou in a statement about her bill, “Dreamers, undocumented immigrants who were brought to this country as minors by their parents, represent what America is all about — a nation of immigrants. While on a state level we cannot fix federal immigration policies so these young people who have never known another country can continue to have legal status and a path to U.S. citizenship, we can and we must on a state level do all we can to allow them to reach their full potentials as productive adults … This bill is a win-win for everyone in New Jersey.”

Currently, the state of New Jersey licenses 210 occupations and professions. These include medical practitioners such as physicians and nurses, mental health care professionals (such as psychologists and counselors), teachers, security officers, bounty hunters, employment agents, tax collectors, and others.

Certain undocumented immigrants are already permitted to practice law in the state of New Jersey. The New Jersey Bar admitted the first DACA recipient earlier this year, Parthiv Patel, as NPR reported.

Pou represents constituents from New Jersey’s 35th legislative district. The area is home to some 225,000 residents and includes the city of Paterson. On her own web page, she describes her territory as a “diverse district.” The state senator is chairwoman of the New Jersey Senate’s commerce committee, vice-chair of its higher education committee, and a member of its judiciary committee.

Earlier this year, New Jersey’s Gov. Phil Murphy, also a Democrat, signed a bill allowing undocumented immigrants to get college financial aid. 

In 2013, Pou co-sponsored a bill, signed by then-Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican, allowing young New Jersey dreamers to pay in-state tuition rates at the state’s public colleges and universities.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump’s March 5 deadline for Congress to act on the phase-out of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) has long since passed. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, due to federal court orders, is still accepting applications for renewals for those who were previously granted the status, but it not accepting new applications at this time.

Former President Barack Obama established the original DACA program via executive order in 2012. Beneficiaries of the program were brought to the United States illegally when they were children. Their status was renewable every two years.

Certain undocumented immigrants are already permitted to practice law in the state of New Jersey.

The seemingly dead-in-the-water Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, which stands to grant amnesty to four times the number of DACA recipients, could get a second life.

An effort to force a rogue vote on immigration failed recently — and Congress is discussing a bill or bills right now, on Friday morning, to help address some of the thorniest border security and immigration issues.

Michele Blood is a Flemington, New Jersey-based freelance writer and a regular contributor to LifeZette.