The State University of New York Board of Trustees passed a resolution yesterday calling for legislation that would give undocumented immigrant students access to tuition assistance, loans and in-state tuition rates “as intended by the DREAM Act.”
“The current demographic realities of New York State indicate that many of the brightest and hardest working students eligible to enroll at SUNY are of undocumented status, and it is imperative that SUNY remain accessible to these students,” Board Chairman H. Carl McCall said.
President Barack Obama was a supporter of the DREAM Act, which was blocked by the Senate in with strong Republican opposition in December 2010. It would have given conditional permanent residency to undocumented immigrants who arrived in the country as children and spent time in the military or at an institute of higher education. President Obama reiterated his support for giving undocumented students access to college education in this week’s State of the Union address.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the City Council, CUNY and New York University have all expressed support for providing tuition aid to undocumented immigrants in New York. Yesterday, State Senator and potential Congressional candidate Adriano Espaillat released a statement praising the SUNY board for their resolution.
“On behalf of my constituents in Manhattan and the Bronx, I thank the State University of New York’s Board of Trustees for sending a strong message recognizing that every person who is academically qualified should be able to access higher education, regardless of immigration status. Educating all of our young people makes our country stronger, not weaker,” Senator Espaillat said. “As a sponsor of legislation that will allow undocumented New Yorkers to access scholarship money for higher education and an advocate for immigrants, I stand with SUNY today.”
Illinois and California have both passed their own versions of the DREAM Act.
