WASHINGTON —The potential passage of the DREAM Act has been delayed in the United States Senate after passing in the House of Representatives by a vote of 216-198 a day earlier on December 8.

Senators voted to defer a decision on the morning of Thursday, December 9 on the act, which would help give a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants who were brought into America as children, according to The Washington Post.

DREAM stands for Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors.

A session will most likely convene next week to decide the fate of the citizenship bill according to spokespeople from the Democratic Party.  The delay is expected to allow the Senate to vote on an amended version of the bill.

 The Democrats needed 60 votes to pass the measure but were unable to rally the necessary support as Republicans in the Senate stood together in opposition. Critics of the bill have reportedly stood for in their opposition, saying that they would likely not change their minds.

Democrats are still holding out hope that they will be able to pass the bill before year’s end, after which they will lose seats as a result of the November elections, making it even more difficult to pass the DREAM Act.

Republicans have criticized the DREAM Act as legislation designed to appease certain groups but say that it’s not the answer to fixing what many believe is a “broken” immigration system in America.

The Arab American News last week published an editorial in support of the DREAM Act, stating that the American economy is expected to fall short of the number of college graduates in the coming years according to a study by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce.