October 23, 2007

Bill to Extend Student Aid to Illegal Immigrants Resurfaces in U.S. Senate

Advocates of federal legislation known as the Dream Act, which would make some illegal immigrants eligible for federal student-loan and work-study programs, are once again making a push to move the measure through Congress.

The bill, S 2205, is scheduled to be considered on Wednesday by the U.S. Senate, according to Sen. Richard Durbin, an Illinois Democrat who sponsored the legislation.

If he can win at least 60 votes, the measure would move to the Senate floor. Mr. Durbin said today that he believes his supporters number in the “mid-fifties.”

The bill does not include provisions to repeal a 1996 federal immigration law that has served as a basis for legal challenges to several state laws that extend in-state tuition rates to some students who entered the United States illegally but who graduated from those states’ high schools.

But it would open up the federal student-loan and work-study programs to immigrants who entered the United States illegally when they were under 16 and who have lived in the country for at least five years, have graduated from an American high school, and have been enrolled for at least two years in college or the military.

At a news conference with Mr. Durbin today, advocates also released a new report about the plight of undocumented children in the United States.

The report, “Wasted Talent and Broken Dreams: The Lost Potential of Undocumented Students,” was written by Roberto G. Gonzales, a doctoral student in sociology at the University of California at Irvine.

The report says that only 5 to 10 percent of high-school graduates who are illegal immigrants go on to college. About 65,000 teenagers who have lived in the United States for five years or longer graduate from high school each year, the report says.

Mr. Gonzales also concluded that the 10 states that have passed laws that allow some illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition at public colleges have not experienced an influx of new immigrants or faced greater financial burdens on their educational systems, as some critics of the laws had predicted. —Sara Hebel

Comments

1. Paragraph 5 indicates that the bill would extend student loans to immigrants who entered the country illegally when they were under 16 and meet certain criteria, including “have been enrolled for at least two years in college or the military.” How does an illegal immigrant enroll in the military? What am I missing here?

   — Henry    Oct 23, 04:10 PM    #

2. This article is inaccurate. The DREAM Act would not make any “illegal immigrants” eligible for student loans or work study. What it would do is give those who have grown up here an opportunity to legalize their status, if they meet all of the requirements listed plus others, such as a criminal background check and proof of good moral character. If they succeed in becoming legal, they would of course be eligible for student loans and work study, like other legal immigrants. Even then, the DREAM Act would specifically make them ineligible for Pell grants, however.

   — Josh Bernstein    Oct 23, 04:39 PM    #

3. The bill would extend a path to legalization for individuals who are admitted to a college or university and also individuals who commit to service in the military (which is longer than the two years needed to go the college route).

   — Lui    Oct 23, 04:51 PM    #

4. Me, too, Henry – how do they enroll in college – I know they do – buy how – doesn’t everyone have to have a SS#???

   — sadie    Oct 23, 04:52 PM    #

5. No sadie, at least not in some states. I live in ca. and you are not required to have a SSN to enroll in a college or University.
   Henry, your not missing anything, under the bill, the kids would be allowed to enlist in the military and AFTER they have met the two year requirements, they will be able to adjust their status. Once their status is adjusted, then they become ALMOST the same as any other legal resident. (there are some restrictions however, for example, they will NOT be able to tap into the fed. grants and all that other good stuff.)

   — Martin    Oct 23, 05:13 PM    #

6. But the military service is another way to pass the immigration requirements for citizenship. Many do accomoplish citizenship that way and are pleased to do so. Once the immigrant earns citizenship they have allthe rights and responsibilties we native-born citizens do. They normally do the responsibilities aspect with more ferver though

   — JBJones    Oct 23, 07:05 PM    #

7. Once they turn 21, The DREAM Act allows illegal “teens” to petition for their parents, leading eventually to their aunts, uncles, grandparents and cousins. The DREAM Act does not Protect Americans from Terrorists and Criminals as they are not required to submit fingerprints or undergo background security checks.
   The DREAM Act is one huge chain migration amnesty.

   — DinTN    Oct 23, 10:42 PM    #

8. Dream Act???

   Why the special treatment?

   First the government comes in to our grade schools and tells us the children we are about to conceive are “unwanted” because the population is rising so fast and the resources are stretched to their limit.

   Then the Revolutionaries in the government decide there is plenty of room for the criminals in businesses illegal labor.

   On top of that we are stiffed with the medical and social services of the illegal invaders.

   Now you want us to send our kids straight to work to pay for these lowlifes and their illegal schemes and dreams.

   Give me a break.

   How much more of this do you think we OR the economy will stand?

   — Carson    Oct 24, 01:51 AM    #

9. There will be no time limit to qualifying for the DREAM Act, meaning if passed every illegal entering the U.S. FROM NOW ON, will be eligible!

   It’s estimated there are some 2 million illegal immigrant children in the United States. They are only a portion of the millions of aliens who will likely qualify for the DREAM Act amnesty, because the DREAM Act does not place a cap on the number of people who qualify, provides exceptions to the newly-formed under-30 age limit, and applies retroactively to anyone who first entered before age 16.
   Stop in TODAY! Right now!
   numbersusa.com

   — DinTN    Oct 24, 10:03 AM    #

10. Who wants to explain to the legal international students why they are paying expensive SEVIS fees, visa fees, and waiting, sometimes years, for a visa approval, standing in line, waiting their turn and following the rules,
    while the illegal immigrants are going to be awarded benefits?
    Many if not most F-1 visa students must pay out of state tuition. All of them face extreme limitations on work permission, and can not receive financial aid. There is nothing in the Dream Act for them.
    Why reward the rule breakers?

    — C.S.Nunis    Oct 24, 10:10 AM    #

11. I’m a graduate student who depends on loans to cover my tuition, etc. Almost every year since I was first an undergraduate, there have been issues about the reduction of student loans in comparison to the increases in tuition, etc. Out-of-state students, on average, pay significantly more than in-state students.

    International students also pay significant amounts, but many are backed up by scholarships from either the universities they attend or their governments. Programs like Fulbright are available to help offset costs for students in other countries. Many of them, too, come from wealthy families who can afford the costs. (Of course, we need to recognize that Americans, too, face similar exorbitant costs to attend universities outside of the U.S.)

    My concern with the Dream Act is that it would ultimately lead to scarcer resources in meeting the needs of a college education which has largely replaced the high school diploma as a minimum requirement in the workforce. This is especially problematic for those students in lower income brackets who don’t come from privileged families or receive scholarships. (Most scholarships end up going to students from middle or upper class families.)

    The other issue is that the Dream Act, rather than discouraging illegal immigration, would actually promote it. Yes, I understand that children often have no say about their parents’ decisions in situations like illegal immigration, but when you’re dealing with issues that affect the financial welfare of those who are putting in their dues financially (through taxes, visa fees, etc.), what then?

    I’d think that, before seriously giving weight to the question of the Dream Act, we should be determining if we have the resources in the first place. When you’re talking about potentially cutting back on what have already been proposed and actual cutbacks to financial aid, who, in the long-term, will suffer more? In other words, let’s not allow our guilt and unwillingness to be firm on issues of immigration impact those of us (citizen or otherwise) who follow the rules, at least in terms of being in this country.

    — Vanessa Raney    Oct 24, 12:16 PM    #

12. My God, you guys act is if this country wasn’t founded by immigrants from various countries who nearly wiped out the native inhabitants. I mean there is no doubt we need immigration reform but some of your comments are just asinine. You also forget that most illegal immigrants are hard working people that are trying to do the best they can to provide for their families because conditions do not allow them to do so in their own countries, and any of us would do the same in such a situation. If the US Government really wanted to stop the flow of illegal immigrants badly enough they would do more to help stabilize the economies of the Latin American countries where these immigrants come from instead of wasting billions of dollars worth of resources fighting wars that we shouldn’t be having any part in.

    — Al    Oct 24, 12:29 PM    #

13. i agree with the dream act, i cant believe how there are some ignorant people here that dont agree with it. we are all immigrants in this country and whoever doesnt know that is a truly ignorant. ask your grandparents where they are from or the parents of your grandparents and then judge others.

    — ana    Nov 12, 09:02 PM    #

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