sent a message to senator mark kirk in illinois

I sent a letter to my congressman and this is what he sent back. does that mean he is in favor of the Dream Act?



Thank you for contacting me regarding the American Dream Act. I appreciate hearing from you and understand your concerns on this issue.

In 1996, Congress passed the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA), Public Law 104-208. Section 505 of IIRIRA made unauthorized aliens ineligible for post secondary education benefits based on state residence, unless equal benefits were made available to all U.S. citizens regardless of state of residence.

On March 1, 2007, Representative Howard Berman (D-CA) introduced H.R. 1275, the American Dream Act. This legislation would cancel the removal of, and adjust to conditional permanent resident status for, those students that meet the specified criteria. To qualify, an illegal alien must enter the United States before his or her sixteenth birthday and be present in the United States for at least five years before the bill becomes law. The alien must also have been admitted to an institution of higher education, or have earned a high school or equivalent diploma. Finally, following the age of sixteen, the alien must not have committed a crime against Americans or be subject to exclusion, deportation, or removal.

The legislation leaves it up to the states to determine if the illegal aliens are eligible for lower instate education benefits or be charged rates that are already levied against out-of-state American citizen students. H.R. 1275 was referred to the House Education and Labor Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness, where it awaits further action. I will monitor this legislation closely with your thoughts in mind.

Thank you for contacting me on this important issue. Please feel free to visit my website at kirk.house.gov or contact me again should any other issues of importance to you come before the Congress.

My understanding of this letter is by passing the Dream Act it will contradict the Public Law 104-208 Section 505.

" Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA), Public Law 104-208. Section 505 of IIRIRA made unauthorized aliens ineligible for post secondary education benefits based on state residence, unless equal benefits were made available to all U.S. citizens regardless of state of residence."

What this law is saying is that undocumented students cannot continue on with a higher education (ie college) unless American citizens can have the same benefits. Which means if a US citizen lives in Illinois he can go to New York and have in-state tuition.

He didn't give an exact answer as to whether he is for or against the dream act; but just provided "definitions of laws or what they entail of".

He also mentioned that it is up to the state to determine whether an undocumented student can have in-state tuition. For example, the states such as New York, Washington state, etc are states that decided to provide in-state tuition for undocumented students.

Ok thx dreamerc im just gonna erase this thread cuz i already updated it on the advocacy page. thank you.