Despite setbacks, some UCLA students continue to take part in
efforts to enact the Development, Relief and Education for Alien
Minors Act, which some believe will open greater opportunities for
children of undocumented immigrants.
Introduced in 2003, the act would offer lawful permanent
resident status to qualified undocumented students who are in the
progress of completing their college educations or are serving in
the military.
Given the Hispanic population at UCLA, the fulfillment of the
DREAM Act remains an important issue to some students.
In the coming months, some members of the Undergraduate Students
Association Council plan to team up with other students to advocate
the DREAM Act.
With progress currently stalled in Congress due to legislative
debate on the act, student groups on campus are taking various
other approaches to push the bill’s enactment.
One way some are seeking to aid immigrant students is through
financial aid reform.
“We will be working to ensure that students can afford
university education regardless of immigration status,” said
Jeannie Biniek, USAC external vice president.
USAC will create a financial aid task force to evaluate the
financial needs of all UCLA students, and plans to work with the
Financial Aid Office to create a policy that treats immigrant
students equally.
“Everyone deserves higher education. … It’s their
right,” said Sulma Hernandez, campus organizing director of
the external vice president.
Improving Dreams, Equality Access and Success, a student group
conceived to address the needs of immigrant students, will strive
to reach the general population with its message about the
significance of the DREAM Act, while USAC’s efforts will
focus on the legislative sides of the issue.
The organization will host a conference in May, where it plans
to discuss the legislation of the DREAM Act with community and
political leaders.
Certifications to practice professional services, such as
medicine and law, require documentation of legal residency, making
permanent resident status necessary to higher education
students.
Permanent residency can also ensure in-state tuition and secure
federal loans and access to work-study programs.
“We have a shortage of underrepresented minority doctors
and teachers … yet a population of perfectly eligible workers are
going to waste,” said Saray Gonzalez, co-chair and project
director for IDEAS.
Members of USAC are participating in the push toward the
realization of the DREAM Act, though not as a council.
Opponents of the DREAM Act say the bill will decrease public
concern about illegal immigration and further complicate homeland
security.
“We do not want to reward illegal immigration, but we also
do not want to punish those who wish to be educated citizens and
who have followed the criteria outlined in the DREAM Act,”
said Faith Christiansen, chairwoman of Bruin Republicans.
The criteria for acquiring permanent resident status under the
DREAM Act include college graduation and a minimum of two years of
service in the military.
At the end of the conditional period, successful applicants that
complete the requirements are granted lawful permanent resident
status.
Currently, California enforces Assembly Bill 540, which grants
in-state tuition at public institutions to nonresident students,
including immigrants. Students can only receive the tuition if they
have attended and graduated from a California high school and are
in the process of attaining lawful resident status.
AB 540 only provides tuition benefits, unlike the proposed DREAM
Act, which awards legitimate resident status as well.
A sister bill of the DREAM Act, known as the Student Adjustment
Act, is currently in review at the House of Representatives.