New York tuition help for illegal alien youth passes the first hurdle
New York tuition help for illegal youth passes the first hurdle
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Students protested in June outside Obama campaign offices in Culver City, Calif.
They wanted the president to issue an executive order that would stop the deportation of illegal students, which he later did. California has a DREAM Act that gives illegal immigrant students access to private college scholarships for state schools. New York legislators are working on one, too. (Photo by Damian Dovarganes / AP Photo)
By Marnie Eisenstadt | meisenstadt@syracuse.com
The Post-Standard
on February 12, 2013 at 10:58 AM http://ads.syracuse.com/RealMedia/ad...g11=blog_entry
Thousands of New York youth are a step closer to getting financial aid for college.
The state's Dream Act, which would make state tuition assistance money and a new scholarship fund available for undocumented residents, was approved this morning in the New York State Assembly's Higher Education Committee. Both Republicans and Democrats supported the legislation.
The bill still has to move through another committee, Ways and Means, before the entire Assembly gets to vote on it.
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has been pushing the legislation. A similar proposal died in the New York State Senate without ever getting to a vote last year. Recently, Senate Republican leader Dean Skelos was reported as saying he'd support the private scholarship fund.
But extending state aid might still struggle to find support in the Senate.
Undocumented immigrants are able to attend SUNY and CUNY schools and receive in-state tuition. But they cannot get access to state or federal tuition assistance money. If the legislation passed, New York would join California, New Mexico and Texas in extending tuition assistance to undocumented students.
Contact Marnie Eisenstadt at meisenstadt@syracuse.com or 315-470-2246.
http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2013/02/new_york_tuition_help_for_ille.html
