California's Berkeley to give college scholarships to illegal immigrants

BerkeleyHopeful · 12-13-2012, 07:07 AM

http://news.yahoo.com/californias-be...022706936.html

WOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!
I am so ecstatic, grateful, happy, and lucky! Hopefully, this event triggers other universities to do the same!

Quote:

SACRAMENTO, California (Reuters) - The University of California's Berkeley campus announced on Tuesday that a private foundation has given $1 million to fund scholarships for illegal immigrants.
The scholarships will go to nearly 200 students who are not eligible for federal grants, government-backed loans or work-study positions, the school said.
The Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, a private family foundation, provided the scholarship grant. It is the largest scholarship for undocumented immigrants ever given to a U.S. university, the foundation said.
"These motivated, hardworking and inspiring students are an asset to our state and our country," the fund's president, Ira Hirschfield, said in a statement. "Now that it's legal to do so in California, we encourage other foundations and private donors to consider providing funding to help undocumented students achieve their potential."
Higher education has become a battleground in the nation's immigration wars that have seen the Obama administration grant leniency to young people brought into the country illegally as children even as a number of states have sought to crack down on illegal immigrants within their borders.
[Related: Senator pleads ignorance to illegal-immigrant intern]
Last year, California signed into a law a bill dubbed the California Dream Act that allows illegal immigrants to receive privately funded scholarships to attend the state's public colleges and universities after attending at least three years of high school in the state.
The California law is named after national legislation in Congress to give young, undocumented immigrants who have lived in the United States for at least five years a pathway to citizenship through college or military service.
The federal bill failed to win passage in December 2010, and its chances have dimmed since a Republican majority took control of the House of Representatives.
Critics say the California Dream Act gives illegal immigrants a false promise because their status will not change after graduating from college and they will remain unable to find legal employment.
But that reality may well be shifting. President Barack Obama will push for comprehensive immigration reform during his second presidential term, his spokesman said in November.
And the Obama administration already relaxed deportation rules earlier this year by allowing for some illegal immigrants brought to the United States as children to be given temporary legal status.
(Reporting by Mary Slosson; Editing by Paul Thomasch and Lisa Shumaker)

petbear · 12-13-2012, 07:50 AM

Yea Berkeley is pretty much amazing. We've been getting tuition pretty much covered since last spring, have a ab540 advisor, and now have a "safe" room for us on campus!

Cloudless · 12-13-2012, 08:51 AM

And in Georgia undocumented kids are not even allowed to attend top public universities, at any tuition rate...

Smooth · 12-13-2012, 08:28 PM

Very good news!

DareToAct · 12-13-2012, 09:13 PM

Is this preferably for california residents?

petbear · 12-13-2012, 09:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DareToAct

Is this preferably for california residents?

Yea. This is only legal because of AB130- Institutional financial aid which is sourced from private funds. In order to qualify you must be AB540 eligible which means you did 3 years at a California High School and thus qualify for in-state tuition.

jamesp · 12-13-2012, 09:21 PM

I wish it happened when I was at Cal. I'm very happy and damn PROUD of my CAL Bears nonetheless (especially the dreamer Bears)!

ppl_man · 12-14-2012, 04:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by petbear

Yea. This is only legal because of AB130- Institutional financial aid which is sourced from private funds. In order to qualify you must be AB540 eligible which means you did 3 years at a California High School and thus qualify for in-state tuition.

Yet this kind of fund is hard to find. Illinois dream fund? Still a mess!

I think Gates Foundation should help us out.

Oscar CS · 12-16-2012, 07:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cloudless

And in Georgia undocumented kids are not even allowed to attend top public universities, at any tuition rate...

This is inaccurate. I live in GA and I can attend school if I pay out of state fee. Of course, this is almost five times as much in tuition costs, but your still allowed to attend. There is a well known law that says that undocumented students can't attend the top five most competitive schools in the state. UGA, GA Tech, GCSU, Georgia Med School, and I can't recall the fifth one.

Anyways, thanks for the news OP. I will be applying for schools to transfer to this semester

. Berkeley will definitely be one of them.

Cloudless · 12-16-2012, 08:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oscar CS

This is inaccurate. I live in GA and I can attend school if I pay out of state fee. Of course, this is almost five times as much in tuition costs, but your still allowed to attend. There is a well known law that says that undocumented students can't attend the top five most competitive schools in the state. UGA, GA Tech, GCSU, Georgia Med School, and I can't recall the fifth one.

How am I not accurate when you basically say the same thing?

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California's Berkeley to give college scholarships to illegal immigrants