The DREAM Act can’t wait

As chances for comprehensive immigration reform diminish, it becomes more urgent for Congress to pass the so-called DREAM Act this year. Insuring that young people with much to offer society can go to college is an urgent matter.

The bill basically allows undocumented students who have attended and graduated from secondary school in the U.S., to attend college. It is not fair to shut the doors of educational opportunity and progress to these students because their parents brought them into this country illegally.

California has its own law that allows these students to continue their studies—the issue in our state is whether they can receive financial aid. In other states, there are hundreds of thousands of young people who meet the academic criteria to continue their studies but cannot do so because they have no papers.

It should be noted that these students —despite no official change in immigration policy— are not being expelled from the country in the midst of the record number of deportations currently taking place. That is very good, especially when many of them are bravely exposing themselves to arrest by revealing their undocumented status in protests supporting passage of the DREAM Act legislation. But these considerations are insufficient.

The DREAM Act must be passed this year. If this does not happen as part of a comprehensive immigration reform, it should be put to a separate vote or included as part of another bill. But it can wait no longer.

Denying these students the chance to move on to college is to sacrifice the future by closing the door to those with much potential to make valuable contributions to our country. This is a luxury we cannot afford.

As chances for comprehensive immigration reform diminish, it becomes more urgent for Congress to pass the so-called DREAM Act this year. Insuring that young people with much to offer society can go to college is an urgent matter.

The bill basically allows undocumented students who have attended and graduated from secondary school in the U.S., to attend college. It is not fair to shut the doors of educational opportunity and progress to these students because their parents brought them into this country illegally.

California has its own law that allows these students to continue their studies—the issue in our state is whether they can receive financial aid. In other states, there are hundreds of thousands of young people who meet the academic criteria to continue their studies but cannot do so because they have no papers.

It should be noted that these students —despite no official change in immigration policy— are not being expelled from the country in the midst of the record number of deportations currently taking place. That is very good, especially when many of them are bravely exposing themselves to arrest by revealing their undocumented status in protests supporting passage of the DREAM Act legislation. But these considerations are insufficient.

The DREAM Act must be passed this year. If this does not happen as part of a comprehensive immigration reform, it should be put to a separate vote or included as part of another bill. But it can wait no longer.

Denying these students the chance to move on to college is to sacrifice the future by closing the door to those with much potential to make valuable contributions to our country. This is a luxury we cannot afford.

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