Thursday Immigration Blog Round Up

Photo by Antonio Villaraigosa

Last year, the DREAM Act, which would have aided the children of undocumented immigrants to attend college, enlist in the military, and attain citizenship, died in the Senate, but there has been progress at the state level.

In New York, a bill was introduced in the state senate that would allow children of undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition, be eligible for state financial aid, get access to health care, receive a state issued driver’s license, and be elligible for certain state jobs.

In Maryland, the state passed a bill that would allow the children of undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition for higher education.

In Oregon, the state senate voted in favor of a bill that would allow children of undocumented immigrants to receive in-state tuition for college if they attended school in the United States for at least five years, of which three years must be in an Oregon school.

In California, the state assembly passed legislation resembling the DREAM Act, but Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed it multiple times. However, Assemblyman Cedillo, who introduced the California version of the DREAM Act, has said that newly elected Governor Brown may pass the bill.

To see more, the American Prospect mapped out which states offer in-state tuition to the children of undocumented immigrants. 

The only roadblock for the passage of state versions of the DREAM Act is the potential extra costs that states would have to incur to pay for this legislation.  For example, in Maryland, state analysts have said that the enrollment of new students would cost the state an extra $800,00 by the year 2012 and $3.5 million by the year 2014. Additionally, Gov. Schwazenegger has stated that his reason to veto the CA version of the DREAM Act is that the state could not afford to administer the legislation. Considering the economic climate and the budget crises that many states face, there could be a potentially huge hurdle for the passage of state versions of the DREAM Act. 

Despite this fiscal challenge, there has been progress in the passing of these laws. Even though the progress is somewhat marginal, there seems to be gaining a momentum in passing legislation that supports immigrants’ rights. If the governor of Maryland signs this bill into law, Maryland would be the eleventh state that would allow undocumented students to compete for state scholarships and financial aid, and receive tuition. 

There does seem to be some progress, but it has all been at the state level and not federal level. Currently, there is an administration in the White House that support immigration reform. An increasing number of states passing bills resembling the DREAM Act show growing support for immigration rights. Hopefully, federaly elected officials will notice this trend and pass immigration reform bills.