In Gwinnett County, Georgia, nearly half of the immigrants marked for deportation by the 287(g) program last year were charged with non-DUI traffic violations, including 470 charged with driving without a license. These people can hardly be considered “criminal aliens” that pose a threat to public safety. In reality, most unlicensed immigrant drivers are simply trying to get to work or take their children to school. In Gwinnett and other suburbs across the country, poor transit access makes this nearly impossible without driving.

Without doubt, elected officials who embrace local immigration enforcement vociferously deny that it involves racial profiling. But it’s painfully obvious that these programs disproportionately affect the Latino community. According to the Times, although 48 percent of the immigrants in Gwinnett County are Latino, they were a whopping 93 percent of immigration detainees in local jail last year.

In October, a 27 year-old named Hiram Huerta-Fraga, who came to the U.S. with his father and stepbrother at age 13, was deported from Gwinnett after being pulled over for a brake light violation. His stepbrother Salvador told the Atlanta Journal Constitution that he felt targeted because of his race. Despite his feelings, he said: “I love this country and I want to be here… It's just like playing the lottery every day. You never know when you're going to get pulled over."

It’s hard to see how deporting hardworking, taxpaying, undocumented immigrants for these minor “crimes” benefits our nation’s economy or security. It’s harder still to support these actions when our Congress hasn’t improved the laws governing who can legally enter the country in over twenty years. Fortunately, this week the House took a major step in that direction by passing the DREAM Act.

The DREAM Act would offer a shot at legal status to young immigrants like Salvador. To qualify, applicants must have been brought here at age 16 or earlier, be under the age of 30, lived in the country for five years, pass a criminal background check and get a high school diploma. They also must agree to two years of college or military service.

Next week, the Senate will consider whether to pass the DREAM Act. As our federal and local immigration enforcement policies increasingly target immigrants for minor crimes, this limited measure is an urgent priority. With legal status, immigrants will be able to get better jobs, pay higher taxes and contribute more to our nation’s economy. Crucially, it will also allow thousands of young immigrants to get driver’s licenses.

The DREAM Act is only a drop in the bucket, just one tool needed to clean up the messes that define our national immigration system.