DREAM Act Portal Forum - Assembly passes part of DREAM Act

The California State Assembly voted last Wednesday to pass the second half of the state’s DREAM Act and would provide state grants and financial aid to undocumented students attending college in California.

Assembly members approved AB 131 — authored by Assemblymember Gilbert Cedillo, D-Los Angeles — in a 46-25 party-line vote. The bill will now move to the state Senate for consideration.

The bill was suspended by the Assembly Committee on Appropriations in mid-April due to concerns regarding the financial impact it would have on the state. The suspension was lifted and the committee approved the bill May 27.

Under AB 540, undocumented students qualify for in-state tuition by attending for three years and graduating from a California high school, among other requirements, but are not eligible for financial aid.

The bill’s counterpart, AB 130, was passed by the state Assembly May 5 and would allow the UC, CSU and California Community Colleges to provide financial aid to undocumented students from their financial aid reserves.

AB 131 would allow undocumented students at California colleges and universities to be eligible for state financial aid such as Cal Grants.

Though former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed versions of the act last year, Gov. Jerry Brown has said he would approve the act. UC President Mark Yudof and UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau have also expressed their support for the act.

“The outstanding accomplishments of these leaders of tomorrow should not be disregarded, nor their future jeopardized, simply because of their legal status,” Yudof said in a statement.

Opponents of the act have said that providing state aid to undocumented students would be fiscally irresponsible when the state is facing a nearly $10 billion deficit. Additionally, current immigration laws, they argue, would prevent employers from hiring the students that would benefit from the act.

But supporters have argued there is still time for immigration reform and there are economic reasons to support the act — that it is crucial for students to be educated so they can contribute to the economy as tax-paying workers.

“I stand here today on behalf of the high school students that I taught … I taught them the values of freedom, justice, equality and opportunity,” said Assemblymember Susan Bonilla, D-Concord, at a May 5 Assembly meeting. “It is a great honor today to stand on this floor for those same values. I stand here on behalf of the undocumented students and the documented students because the lesson is the same.

http://dailycal.org/2011/06/05/assem...-of-dream-act/