Do Dems Really Care?

If Democrats truly care more about Dreamers than politics, let them now prove it — by backing a new version of the Dream Act put out by three Republican senators last week. A whopping 88 percent of Americans want to let Dreamers (illegal immigrants brought into the United States as kids) stay here, Thursday’s Quinnipiac University poll showed. The new bill, called the Succeed Act and offered by Sens. Thom Tillis (NC), James Lankford (Okla.) and Orrin Hatch (Utah), does that. And in a way that addresses GOP concerns without asking huge concessions of Dream supporters.

To limit “chain migration,” for example, the bill would oblige Dreamers to become full citizens before sponsoring relatives here. And it sets out a 15-year process for gaining citizenship, including tough-but-doable conditions.

Those are more-than-fair compromises, as Jonathan Tobin noted on these pages Wednesday, especially since Republicans now control both houses of Congress and the White House.

Recall that President Trump rescinded President Barack Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which “protected” Dreamers, because it was unconstitutional and ongoing litigation was going to make the courts recognize that fact.

But Trump left protections in place for the 800,000 Dreamers for six months to give Congress a chance to fix the mess; here’s its chance.

But any Dream Act-like bill will need votes from both parties — because extremes on either end won’t accept compromise.

Some Republicans won’t go along with any grant of “amnesty” that could encourage more illegal immigration. Many Democrats insist on a fast and easy path to citizenship.

The question is whether enough Dems will back a good deal for the Dreamers, letting them work and study openly — or whether they’ll put these young people at risk, simply to make some abstract point, figuring they can safely blame Republicans for the suffering that ensues.

We’re about to find out how many Democrats really care.