Even Undocumented Students Need Aid for College—and Now They May Get It

Undocumented students may be the biggest beneficiaries of the immigration bill headed for a full vote by the Senate as early as June 3.
The DREAM Act provision of the proposed "Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act, S 744" would put students who entered the country illegally as children on the fastest track ever to legal permanent residency.
So-called Dreamers would be on a five-year plan to obtaining legal status—an eight-year short-cut over other undocumented immigrants for whom the immigration reform bill has laid out a 13-year path.
Dreamers who moved to the U.S. before the age of 16, have lived here since Dec. 31, 2011, and have either a high school diploma or a GED, qualify for the comparatively speedy change in legal residency.
Another bonus for Dreamers: They may soon be eligible for federal financial aid thanks to an amendment introduced by Senator Mazie K. Hirono, Democrat of Hawaii that was passed Tuesday, surprising DREAM Act legislation advocates.
“We were amazed that [the amendment] got through,” said Wendy Feliz, communications director for the American Immigration Council.
If it becomes law, it will extend federal student loans and work-study programs to students but it is unclear if it also includes Pell Grants.
“If we’re going to legalize these kids then let’s get them educated,” said Feliz.
The Immigration Policy Center, the research arm of the AIC, estimates about 65,000 undocumented students graduate from high school every year, and only 5% to 10% of them go to college, due in large part to the prohibitive costs of higher education.
In all but 14 states, undocumented students pay out-of-state tuition at public colleges regardless of whether or not they meet residency requirements. Feliz says that’s hurting the national economy.
A 2010 study by the UCLA North American Integration and Development Center estimates that the total earnings of DREAM Act beneficiaries over the course of their working lives would be between $1.4 trillion and $3.6 trillion.
A 2008 study from Arizona State University found that an individual with a bachelor’s degree earns approximately $750,000 more over the course of his or her lifetime than an individual with only a high-school diploma.
But there’s still a long way to go before the bill gets through Congress and it’s possible that the controversial amendment will not survive the legislative process, as happened with the 2010 DREAM Act.
Federal student aid suffered another blow this year due to across the board cuts of the sequester. That, plus slashes made in previous years and skyrocketing enrollment have opponents arguing that idea of extending federal financial aid to undocumented students is ill-timed.
But most higher education policies are made at the state level, and in the absence of federal legislation, many have sponsored their own Dream Acts. Fourteen states offer undocumented students in-state tuition rates if they have obtained temporary documentation under President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.
Iris Godes, president of the Massachusetts Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, said the biggest boost to enrollment by Dreamers has been at the community college level because “It’s the most affordable.” But, for the most part, undocumented students are still shut out of four-year institutions.
The average cost of a year at community college in the state is about $5000 whereas a year at University of Massachusetts schools is just under $12,500.
Only three states—Texas, New Mexico and California—offer Dreamers state financial aid, grants and scholarships.
In California, undocumented students will be eligible for Cal grants—about $1.3 billion dollars worth of state aid—starting in the 2013-14 school year.
The complete immigration reform bill is now headed to the Senate floor for a vote.
The battle to pass a federal DREAM Act has been waging for over a decade. And, though some advocates fear the Senate’s immigration reform bill will face staunch opposition from Republicans, especially in the House where they control the majority, many are confident that the Dreamer movement has enough momentum to carry it through.
What are your thoughts on undocumented students having access to federal financial aid? Let us know in the Comments.

Sweet

I don't need aid, I just need the means necessary to pay in state tuition and be able to earn my way through college. Just give us the resources and we will make the best use of them.

Same here, but I do understand that there are dreamers out there who don't have any resources whatsoever; it's not like the job market is all that great for young people, anyway. I have a decent-paying job to help me through school, and I'm really thankful for that. Others don't have that opportunity, and private loans are hard to get by and to pay for later on..

At the end of the day, though, would you rather CIR pass without this but with a reasonable pathway to legal residency than with it and fail in both chambers?

During markup, Hirono was explicitly asked by Hatch if her amendment included Pell Grants and she said it does not. The text of her amendment also makes clear that aid will be limited to William D. Ford Federal Direct Loans, Federal Perkins Loans, and the Federal Work-Study program.

I'm not sure where Wendy gets this "it is unclear..."

I want it to pass. My life depends on it (not to sound dramatic) now with the proper status loans and scholarships will be more abundant.

As long as it's qualifying DREAMers for loans, I'm okay with that. I think if the bill wants to qualify DREAMers for Pell grants or federal aid, it would be a really really uphill battle to convince House Republicans and the general public that it's a good idea.

I have one more year left in state university, and although it's been one hell of a struggle, I've been lucky to have scholarships, family support, and the Cal Dream Act. I wouldn't feel right getting more aid than what the Cal Dream Act gives me without legal permanent residency.