In a press conference earlier today Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced his support for the DREAM Act.

Passage of the Dream Act would provide "a great return on money we’ve already invested, and it encourages economic growth," Villaraigosa said.

Yet for thousands of students, the DREAM Act is about more than just economics. It’s a matter of livelihood.

"Without the DREAM Act, after I get my degree, I have nowhere to go [because] I can’t work legally" says David Cho, an honors student studying Economics and Korean at UCLA. Cho would be one of the estimated 825,000 students who could benefit from the bill if it’s passed tomorrow by the Senate.

In the video below, Cho goes further in describing how the bill would impact him as an undocumented student.

The DREAM Act now has the support of the mayors from two largest cities in the nation. In May, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and eighteen CEOs from companies like American Express, Pfizer, and News Corp (yes, Rupert Murdoch) signed a letter pledging their support for the DREAM Act.

The Migration Policy Institute, a Washington think tank estimates three out of four potential Dream Act beneficiaries reside in 10 states, led by California, Texas, Florida, New York and Arizona.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is offering the DREAM Act as an amendment to the fiscal year 2011 Department of Defense Authorization bill. The Senate is expected to vote on a procedural motion on Tuesday.