Dreams did not come true this year for supporters of the
Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, as the
108th Congress’ lame duck session prepares to end.
This is a period after the official session of the congress has
ended but bills can still be passed.
All bills that have currently not passed yet will have to be
reintroduced next term, and begin the process of becoming a bill
all over again.
Though the Dream Act, which would offer undocumented students
the ability to apply for financial aid and loans, did not pass this
term, students who have previously advocated the bill are still
hopeful that it will pass in the future.
“I think it is going to take a couple of years for the
bill to pass, now that we have a house majority that is Republican
and a Senate that is Republican, and mostly conservative,”
said Allan Salinas, a fourth-year political science student, who
was undocumented up until two years ago when he received his green
card.
The Dream Act would also allow students that have lived in the
United States for at least five years to apply for legal
residency.
Undocumented students currently must pay for their fees by their
own means, as they are not eligible for university or government
aid.
Opponents of the Dream Act argue that if passed, it would become
easier for undocumented students to attend state schools, turning
away legal residents from the school system, which could hurt the
community.
Opponents also argue that the Dream Act would lead to providing
amnesty for all illegal immigrants.
In 2001, California’s undocumented students were helped
with the passage of Assembly Bill-540 by former Governor Gray
Davis.
AB-540 allows undocumented students who meet specific
qualifications to pay in-state fees for California public
universities.
Before the passage of AB-540, undocumented students were forced
to pay out-of-state tuition.
Salinas’ memories of being an undocumented student have
made him an active member of the Coalition for Humane Rights of Los
Angeles, and the Immigrants Right Coalition at UCLA.
“If you think about it, yes AB-540 makes tuition easier to
pay, now (undocumented) students can get bachelors, but now that
you have your B.A., you try to find a job, but you won’t find
a job,” Salinas said, “You are going to get a
construction job that doesn’t require papers. What’s
the point of going to school for four years if you are going to end
up doing what you would have done after high school?”
Salinas and CHIRLA are already looking toward the upcoming
Congress term, to promote the Dream Act.
“We are going to take the 2004-2005 campaign to Washington
D.C., and try to get more organizations involved in Los Angeles and
California, and expand to more conservative areas,” said
Horacio Arroyo, the youth peer organizer of Wise Up!, a group that
is part of CHIRLA.
“We need to be able to communicate with one another, to
come out stronger, and show that California is organized at its
fullest capacity,” he added.
During this term, Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and
Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) both co-sponsored the Dream Act, and plan
to continue the same next session.
“I decided to co-sponsor the (Dream Act) of 2003 because
there are instances in which youngsters may merit special
consideration for immigration relief,” Feinstein wrote in an
email.
“The Dream Act would benefit high achieving students who
have demonstrated a desire to better themselves through education
or service to our country,” she added.
Along with endorsement from both California senators, the Dream
Act currently has 48 co-sponsors, of which 34 are Democrats and 14
are Republicans, Salinas said.
Cosponsors are still needed, and CHIRLA plans to do everything
they can to encourage more to support the Dream Act.
“We will definitely continue visiting (senators) and have
meetings about this in Washington D.C. and hopefully even talk
about how to get other fellow Senators to support this as
well,” Arroyo said, “We never want to lose
Senators’ support, it is really crucial at this
point.”
The fate of the Dream Act lies within Washington D.C., but from
Salinas’ experiences, he argues that legislators might not
even have all the answers.
“When I went to Washington D.C. and talked to members of
Congress, I asked them their idea of what an American citizen is.
No one could give me a straight answer. I asked if it is a person
that votes, or is really involved in the community. Does that
define them? Is there something else?” Salinas said,
referring to when he visited Washington with CHIRLA to promote the
Dream Act.
“I found it really interesting. … Our legislators
don’t even know what a definition of a citizen is,” he
added.