DREAM Act proposes to allow undocumented residents to pay in-state tuition

Boise State students and organizations support reintroduction of the DREAM Act to the Idaho Senate. The DREAM (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors) Act is a piece of bipartisan federal legislation that would allow undocumented residents who have lived in the United States since before they were 16 years old to pay in-state tuition at universities and colleges. As of now, undocumented students pay approximately $11,000 a year to attend BSU. This is often more than the income of undocumented residents.

Under the DREAM Act, undocumented resident minors would be allowed a six-year residency period in which they must complete one of the following: a two-year degree, two years toward a degree, two years of military service or a 910-hour period of community service.

Idaho Senators Larry Craig and Mike Crapo are cosponsoring the legislation along with others such as Utah Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch. ICAN (Idaho Community Action Network), OELA (Organizacion de Estudiantes Latino-Americanos) and the IPSA (Idaho Progressive Student Aliance) all support the DREAM Act. ICAN has taken a leading role in promoting it through the Student Speaker’s Tour. The IPSA, on the other hand, has taken a mainly supportive role by aiding ICAN and OELA; however it can, according to Megan Egbert, IPSA vice president. The Student Speaker’s Tour is a program through which students affected by issues of undocumented residency address communities in order to educate them on those issues. The goal is to bring awareness to and gain support from communities. According to Fernando Mejia, ICAN’s secretary, issues of undocumented residency affect approximately 65,000 students a year. The DREAM Act will reduce the difficulty many students have in getting higher education, Majia said.

“Every single human being should have an opportunity for a better education,” said Mejia.

The DREAM Act will also help undocumented students by giving them a viable path toward citizenship, according to Mejia.

He also pointed out that communities benefit from having undocumented residents educated. “[The] only way to improve the community is to educate,” said Mejia.

The DREAM Act was originally introduced in July 2003. In its current form it would repeal section 505 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996. Section 505 effectively discourages states from aiding students by providing in-state tuition rates. Students must retain good standing under its conditions to qualify. That is, those students that have committed crimes or have been deemed a security risk are ineligible. The DREAM Act focuses on education and pairs well with more widely known McCain-Kennedy cosponsored legislation regarding comprehensive immigration reform, according to Mejia. Mejia said nine million people immigrate to the United States and only 10,000 visas are issued.

“We don’t want to forget the big picture,” said Mejia. “We are all human beings.”

Micah McLaughlin / News Writer

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4. ASBSU Senate is asked to support DREAM Act
5. State Board ponders tuition today