EDITORIAL: DREAM Act would help undocumented students attend college

The avenues an undocumented student may take to obtain an education and find a career afterwards are quite narrow.

The Federal DREAM Act, introduced in both houses of Congress March 26, would grant undocumented students a pathway not only to a college degree, but a means to earn legal residence in the United States.

If passed, the bill would provide undocumented immigrant students access to an education that they otherwise would not be able to obtain.

One student here locally is planning for college while living in the country illegally.

Asking to remain anonymous due to her residency status, she believes the DREAM Act would help improve her overall situation.

“(The DREAM Act) would give me a bigger range of opportunities for going to college and make it easier for me to move towards getting permanent residency,” she said. “I don’t have a lot of options for college because of the fact that money is an issue and only citizens and permanent residents are even considered for financial aid. That limits my options hugely for college, since money is a big factor in choosing colleges I can realistically consider going to.”

The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act states that students that graduate from high school in a given state, obtain a GED or get accepted to college can earn “conditional permanent resident status.”

After either graduating from a two-year college, or two years towards a B.A. degree or two years in the armed forces, the student be granted “unrestricted lawful permanent resident status,” according to the National Immigration Law Center.

Cosponsored by a long list of liberal and conservative Senators and representatives, Calif. Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Congresswoman Lois Capps of the 23rd Congressional District, the DREAM Act would provide students with no other options a way out of deportation and a means to a better life.

The children of illegal immigrants have lived in the U.S. for the majority of their lives, and are by all means what we consider to be “American.”

As it stands now in California, undocumented college students can qualify for in-state tuition under Assembly Bill 540.

“Any undocumented alien must spend at least three consecutive years in a California high school and graduate to be considered eligible to enroll in a CC,” said Moorpark College Executive Vice President of Business Services Ray DiGuilio. “A high school transcript is required to verify their status. If they are eligible to enroll, they do so as a California resident and do not have to pay non-resident tuition.”

The College Board estimates that 65,000 illegal immigrants graduate from U.S. high schools a year. Congress needs to pass this before Fall 2009 to help otherwise well-qualified and hard working students get the education they deserve. By giving everyone a fair chance at getting a college degree, we help build a more productive and competitive society.