With the United States Senate's December vote against the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors, or DREAM Act, many say there is still much to come in the country’s immigration debate.

The 55-41 vote, which was five votes too few to pass, is seen by immigration reform advocates as a step backward for many immigrants, including undocumented students and military service members, who would become legal citizens with the DREAM Act. The U.S. House of Representatives passed the bill in early December, but immigration experts say passing the bill in the near future is unlikely with more Republican seats now in Congress.

John Garcia, director of the Resource Center for Minority Data and the community outreach director for the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research, said the DREAM Act is one part of immigration reform that would allow people to see the issue as having a larger scope than border security and law enforcement.

The bill would permit illegal immigrants who graduate from U.S. high schools to stay in the country if they complete two years of military service or two years at a higher education institution. In order for the DREAM Act to apply, they would have had to enter the U.S. before the age of 16 and reside here for five years.

Garcia said in late December that he believes the DREAM Act will now be difficult to pass since Republicans take the House this month and there were few conservative representatives who voted for the bill on Dec. 8. Eight Republicans voted in support of the bill when it went for a vote in the House on that date, and 20 chose not to vote, according to a Dec. 9 Michigan Daily article.

Garcia said in an interview in late November that the DREAM Act should be passed because it would produce a new generation of workers and highly-educated citizens to fill vacant jobs as the current workforce moves toward retirement.

Citing America's history as a nation comprised of immigrants, Garcia said the nation relies on immigrant workers in service jobs like agriculture as well as in the high-tech worlds of science and engineering.

Lynn Shotwell, executive director of the American Council on International Personnel and a University Law School alum, echoed Garcia’s sentiments. She said the future workforce needs access to all the talent available, which may come from people who were born outside the U.S.

According to Shotwell, more than 50 percent of graduates at the masters and doctoral levels are from foreign nations. However, because green cards are limited, she said it is vital to promise green cards to people who are graduating in order to guarantee a solid workforce.

If changes aren’t put into place, Shotwell said America will be forced to further outsource domestic work.

“If the United States doesn’t adapt to immigration polices that facilitate international business that allow global companies to move people around the world expeditiously, then companies are going to be forced to find other ways to get that business done — whether that means opening facilities abroad or moving workers abroad,” Shotwell said.

Silvia Pedraza, a University professor of sociology and American culture, said the DREAM Act would reduce the need for people to come to America illegally, which is vital for progress on immigration reform.

Immigration allows the U.S.