DREAM Act not fair to other students
Concerning the recent submission about the DREAM bill that was vetoed (“Veto of bill proves to be nightmare for undocumented students,” Oct. 6): Have the reporters at all considered California’s concern with illegal (“undocumented,” to be politically correct) immigrants and the impact not only on the state’s economy, but also on the countless legal residents of California?
I am a legal immigrant to the United States, as are many other UCLA students, both resident and international. I, like many, applied for financial aid and Cal Grant but was denied because of budget cuts in the state and a shortage of federal aid. As a legal immigrant, my family went through a costly and time-consuming process to get here. Are the reporters aware of the process to apply for a visa (worker or student) or a green card?
It is not an easy process, but it is a rewarding one that opens endless opportunities for those who endure it. Who is to say that non-native students need to be shorted even more in the financial-aid game because of those who haven’t bothered to go through the system? How is it at all logical to offer financial aid to those who are undocumented and illegally in the state, utilizing California’s resources without paying taxes, while there is hardly enough for those that earned it and qualify?
There are plenty of deserving low-income families whose children have legitimately earned high school diplomas from the California school system and who are citizens or documented immigrants and are therefore, entitled to the aid that the state provides. Public education is a right to everyone who contributes to the state through taxes. As if it’s not enough that my measly paychecks are taxed, my money is going to the state to pay for the education of those who are not rightfully here. Where is the logic in that reasoning?
I understand that it’s crucial to offer opportunities to all, but aren’t our priorities the students who have earned their right to study here? It’s not our fault where we are born (I’m from Bulgaria, a former communist country with an indisputably poor public education system, and I’m here for a reason.), but there is something in our power to change that.
If an undocumented resident is so intent on attending a UC school, there are ways to get a student visa, which does qualify a person for certain aid and loans. But to fill up the state system with those who haven’t even fought for their right to be here is simply handing out freebies to those who haven’t waited in line. Our resources are for the residents of California who contribute. We pay taxes, we vote in elections, but we could be excluded from college funding because illegal immigrants are somehow more deserving? I think not.
For the sake of every UCLA student who has taken the long, legitimate and tedious path to legal residency or citizenship, leave our resources for those who have earned them. It is possible to achieve, so why should some get a shortcut?
Gergana Panteva
Third-year, international development studies