AB 540 a win, but we still need to DREAM

By Sofia Campos

A few months ago, the California Supreme Court decided to uphold justice and promote economic security in the state of California. By ruling to uphold Assembly Bill 540, which was passed in 2001, the courts recognized the importance of education for all Americans, regardless of citizenship status. This was a victory for justice and for education everywhere.

The upholding of AB 540 in California is a step in the right direction. Now, it is up to us to ensure that our state stays on the right path and passes the California Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act. California must pave the way so that other states may follow in similar fashions.

Currently, California’s undocumented youths are allowed to pay in-state tuition through AB 540. With the upholding of AB 540, these youths will not be forced to pay out-of-state tuition and thus will not be forced to give up on higher education. California, along with the rest of the country, won a significant victory with this ruling.

Thousands of undocumented youths, who have grown up in the U.S. for the majority of their lives and dream of going to college, will continue to have AB 540 to give them hope and access to higher education.

They will not be forced into underground economies immediately after graduating high school, and they will see that the judicial system wants them to succeed educationally and give back to this country what has already been invested in them during K-12 education.

The California Supreme Court ruling on AB 540 is significant for another reason. The federal DREAM Act came up for a vote on Dec. 18 and resulted in a 55 “yes” to 41 “no” vote.

We hoped this ruling would reinforce what many of us know: Undocumented youths across the country can and do contribute to this country intellectually, culturally and economically. We pay taxes, go to school, obey the laws and we could contribute trillions of dollars back to this country.

While many anti-immigrant groups continue to propagate myths, the Congressional Budget Office recently released its financial evaluation of the DREAM Act, stating that it would increase revenue by $2.3 billion between 2011-2020. Their report also states that the DREAM Act would reduce our national deficit by $1.4 billion over the next decade.

Though most of the votes placed were in support of the DREAM Act, the DREAM Act did not reach the needed 60 votes to break the Senate filibuster and move forward.

Despite this loss, there are still 65,000 undocumented students graduating from American high schools every year.

There are still hundreds of undocumented UCLA students struggling to fundraise $4,000 every quarter just to stay in school. The upholding of AB 540 and awareness of this issue are important for the work that lies ahead.

With states such as Arizona and Georgia digressing from the change we need by passing legislation like Arizona Senate Bill 1070 and banning undocumented youth from universities, sensible legislation such as AB 540 and the California DREAM Act is more important than ever.

The California DREAM Act would provide access to institutional aid to undocumented students.

Currently, UCLA has one-third of student fees sent to a pool of institutional aid that goes back to students. Although undocumented Bruins pay into this pool like everyone else, we cannot access the UCLA scholarships, internships, research opportunities or other forms of institutional aid that our money composes.

Our federal government failed us this past December, but the hearts of Dreamers across the nation remain strong, and our Dreams only continue to grow. A Dream deferred may be a Dream denied, but each one of us decides when we accept defeat. Bruins do not give up, Bruins keep fighting ““ documented or not.

Join us at the UC Board of Regents meeting at UC San Diego on Jan. 19 to demand access to institutional aid for all students and help us pass the California DREAM Act.

Campos is the co-chair of Improving Dreams, Equality, Access and Success at UCLA and a fourth-year political science and global studies student.

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