POLITICS
Texas Moving to Exclude 'Dreamers' From College Work-Study
By Meredith Hoffman
Texas Moving to Exclude 'Dreamers' From College Work-Study
Texas legislators are seeking to deny work-study aid to immigrants attending public college under a temporary residency permit, a move that starkly contrasts with a policy enacted 16 years ago that positioned the state as the nation's most welcoming place for foreign-born students.
Under the proposal, which is on the verge of clearing the Texas Legislature, only individuals eligible for federal financial aid would qualify for the state's off-campus, work-study program.
That group includes U.S. citizens, permanent residents and refugees. It doesn't include students who came into the country illegally as children and have a work visa allowing them to stay longer, or immigrants granted permission to stay in the country because they were crime victims.
It wasn't immediately clear how many Texas college students would be denied services if the measure is enacted.
Texas High-Speed Rail Project Moves Forward
Sen. Charles Schwertner, who sponsored the amendment, would not respond to requests for comment on the floor of the state Senate. At a hearing earlier this month he said the measure simply served to "ensure that students receiving state-subsidized employment are legally eligible to work in the United States."
"This amendment simply requires that the student qualify for federal financial aid," he said. "You must have a Social Security card or be a U.S. citizen."
But immigrant advocates said that, to their knowledge, this is the first bill denying work-study aid to foreign-born students who are protected from deportation because of a temporary visa. The young people who benefit are called `dreamers' because the program mimics versions of the so-called DREAM Act, which would have provided legal status for young immigrants but was never passed by Congress.
"We were surprised to see this amendment," said Nicholas Espiritu, a Los Angeles-based staff attorney for the National Immigration Law Center, who said his organization was not aware of another similar law.