The much talked about legislation
of Dream Act to give legal status to undocumented students in the
United States has died in the U.S. Congress, but the battle
continues on the state level.
California is among the 10 states in the U.S. where state
legislators have initiated their own Dream Act and Maryland has
become the first state in the country to pass the Dream Act.
However, the versions of the Dream Act at the state level are
different than the federal level. While federal legislation of the
Dream Act intended to grant U.S. citizenship for undocumented
foreign students who have met certain requirements, state
legislation of the Dream Act has no term on citizenship but it has
terms to let those students pay in-state tuition or the right to
apply for financial aid.
On Thursday the California State Assembly approved AB 130 (
nicknamed the "Dream Act") by a vote of 51-21; the bill is sponsored
by Los Angeles Assemblyman Gil Cedillo.
The California Dream Act does not pertain to awarding legal
status to undocumented students, however; AB 130 is designed to make
paying for college easier for such students.
It allows for undocumented students who already meet the
residency criteria for California in-state tuition to obtain
scholarships that are not derived from state funds.
AB 130 is paired with AB 131, also introduced by Cedillo, that
"would allow undocumented students to qualify for institutional
financial aid, Cal Grants state financial aid grants and other
assistance at the community college level."
The bill now goes to the state Senate. It is not sure whether the
Senate could pass it, but at least it has brought new dreams for
those undocumented students. People hope that now that California has
a Democratic governor, it will be easy to be sign it into law once it
passes the Senate.
This bill would provide that, on and after January 1, 2012, a
student attending the California State University, the California
Community Colleges, or the University of California who is exempt
from paying nonresident tuition under the provision described above
would be eligible to receive a scholarship derived from non-state
funds received, for the purpose of scholarships, by the segment at
which he or she is a student.
There is a big difference for a student to pay the in-state
tuition or out-state tuition.
In California, there are three major public universities and
colleges supported by the state, which include the California
Community Colleges, California State University (CSU), and the
University of California (UC).
Nonresidents, including foreign students, pay an additional 22,
717 dollars in tuition and fees at UC, 11,160 dollars at CSU, and
about 180 dollars more per unit at the California Community Colleges
per academic year.
In general, dependent students whose parents have been in
California or independent students who have been in California more
than one year are considered state residents.
AB 131, the companion bill of AB 130, would allow undocumented
students to qualify for institutional financial aid, Cal Grants
state financial aid grants and other assistance at the community
college level.
However, there are oppositions to the California Dream Act which
complain that California is facing a huge budget deficit and can not
afford the legislation. State funding cuts have pushed the
University of California system to ramp up its recruiting of out-of-
state students and foreign students who bring in more money because
they pay higher fees.
Maryland has moved one step ahead of other states on its own
Dream Act. The state legislature has approved the legislation to
extend in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants and Governor
Martin O'Malley has pledged to sign the bill.
The U.S. Census Bureau estimated that in the year 2000,
approximately 2.5 million undocumented youth under the age of 18
were living in the United States. This group includes large numbers
of Asian Pacific Americans and Latino Americans.
So far, 10 other states have passed or are working on versions of
the Dream Act, extending in-state tuition to undocumented students,
including California, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, New
York, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin.
However, three states that currently offer in-state tuition --
Kansas, Nebraska and Texas -- are looking to repeal the Dream Act
and are planning to join Arizona, Colorado, Georgia and South
Carolina in barring undocumented immigrants from qualifying for in-
state tuition rates.
