San Diego (CNN) -- You may have heard that a group of Republicans in Congress -- including GOP rock star and possible vice presidential pick Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida -- are getting ready to introduce their version of the DREAM Act.You also may have heard that Democratic lawmakers and liberal advocacy groups despise the Republican alternative and derisively label it "DREAM Act Lite." As someone who has written about immigration for more than 20 years and hammered Democrats and Republicans (including Rubio) when appropriate, I call the GOP approach to the DREAM Act something else: A common sense solution. It could break a stalemate and improve millions of lives. And it could only be opposed for ugly partisan reasons.
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Ruben Navarrette: GOP plan to float new version of DREAM Act a step in right direction
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He says plan would let kids who are undocumented be legal but not citizens if in college, military
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He says Dems don't like this, as they want to claim DREAM Act and loyalty of Latinos
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Navarrette: Some Dems faltered on pushing issue through; time to give new plan a chance
If hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrant students could gain legal status, many of those people would become loyal @placeholder voters for life.