Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced Tuesday that he was adding the DREAM Act to the defense authorization measure in the hope of passing some sort of immigration legislation prior to the November elections.

The DREAM Act would provide a pathway to citizenship for children in the country illegally who serve in the military or go to college. The Nevada Democrat called the measure “utterly important.”

He sought to blame Republicans for the Senate’s inability to pass comprehensive immigration legislation, noting that previous GOP supporters have abandoned the issue.

“Those Republicans we had in the last Congress have left us,” Reid said, adding that it is nevertheless important to move the smaller DREAM Act now.

“We have huge numbers of our military who are Hispanic. I think it is very important for us to move forward on this legislation,” he said.