Immigrants feel betrayed by Democrats who promised Dream Act or government shutdown

Illegal immigrant Dreamers said they have been betrayed by Democratic leaders who failed to force a government shutdown showdown this week over demands to pass a legalization bill by the end of the year.

Congressional leaders signaled Wednesday that they will revisit the immigration issue early next year and vowed to complete legislation in January.

That wasn’t cutting it for Dreamers, who had set a year-end deadline and then watched in dismay as Democrats stumbled to deliver on it.

Hundreds of Dreamers, some risking arrest, took to the hallways in Congress to march and conduct lie-downs in office corridors to complain that they have been forgotten.

“We want Dream Act,” protesters chanted. They were referring to a bill that would grant tentative legal status to more than 2 million illegal immigrants and allow 1.7 million of them to earn green cards signifying permanent legal presence, according to the Migration Policy Institute.