Thread: Regents backing educational path to citizenship for illegal

Regents backing educational path to citizenship for illegal immigrant students

stargazette.com
Written by Cara Matthews
7:21 PM, Oct. 18, 2011

ALBANY -- The state Board of Regents voted Tuesday to urge Congress to pass the DREAM Act, legislation that would provide educational opportunities and a path to permanent legal status or citizenship for young undocumented immigrants raised in this country.

But the bill appears to have little chance of success in this session of Congress.

It was voted down in the Democratic-controlled Senate last December after passing the House of Representatives. It was reintroduced in May but has foundered in the now-GOP-led House and in the Senate, where its Republican supporters want it to include comprehensive immigration reform. The Senate has remained under Democratic control.

Despite the odds, New York Education Chancellor John King said Tuesday he is "optimistic that Congress will see the logic of" of approving the DREAM -- Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors -- Act. He and Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch of New York City sent a letter to members of the state's congressional delegation, urging them to support the bill.

"This is an urgent civil-rights issue," King told reporters during a conference call. "This is really about ensuring that people who are a part of our community have the full range of opportunities available to them."

An estimated 345,000 New York public school students are children of undocumented parents, the letter states.

"These kids living in the shadows, they are our kids," Tisch said at a committee meeting Monday. "We have stood by silently trying to fight from the sidelines."

At the request of Regents, the Education Department is developing a proposal for a state-level DREAM Act that would ensure access to financial aid. It will be considered at the board's November meeting.

The federal DREAM Act would allow certain students who have been in the country since age 15 or younger to eventually get permanent legal status and become eligible for citizenship. They would have up to six years to complete an associate's degree, at least two years at a four-year school or at least two years in the military.

"It is very unlikely that anything's going to happen on the DREAM Act in this session of Congress," said Ira Melhman, a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which opposes the legislation. "The Republicans have made it very clear that they are not going to pass any form of amnesty."

There would be no way to prevent "massive fraud" under the Dream Act, and it could lead to already cash-strapped community colleges being inundated, Mehlman said. Passing it essentially would invite people from around the world to come to this country illegally with their children, he said.

The DREAM Act has been around since 2000, he said.

Originally, there was no upper age limit; now it is 35 in the Senate bill and 32 in the House bill, according to the National Immigration Law Center.

The White House announced in August the administration will not pursue deportations of low priority cases -- such as young people brought to this country as small children -- and instead will focus on removing illegal immigrants who have been convicted of a crime.

Chung-Wha Hong, executive director of the New York Immigration Coalition, said the DREAM Act is stuck in Congress and respected voices are needed to refocus the debate back on education.

"The vote that the Regents took today, that's exactly the kind of action that's needed to push the federal bill forward," she said.

The current lack of opportunities can be a deterrent to finishing high school and furthering their education, Hong said.

"A lot of kids ask themselves, 'What's the point of graduating if I can't go to college or what's the point of going to college if I can't get a job,"' she said.

State Sen. Bill Perkins, D-Harlem, is sponsoring legislation that would give qualified undocumented immigrants who entered the country before age 16 access to state financial-aid programs, state identification or driver's licenses, employment opportunities and health insurance. They would have to complete at least two years of college, at least two years in the state National Guard or more than 900 hours of community service. The bill, which was also introduced in the Assembly, did not make it out of committee in either house this year.

Perkins said the Board of Regents' action this week shows progress.

"I think that's a good sign of the kind of momentum that may be growing in terms of embracing the immigrant communities and recognizing not simply that they need to be taken out of the shadows but that they need to be included in our civil life and they have something to contribute," he said.

The bill was dubbed as the "Terrorist Empowerment Act" by Sen. Greg Ball, R-Patterson, Putnam County. Ball said in a statement in March that the legislation would allow "aiding and abetting future terrorists by providing currently illegal identity documents in the form of driver's licenses to those who may wish to harm us."

http://www.stargazette.com/article/2011 ... RONTPAGE|p

"IN-State tuition for ILLEGALS who now replace innocent American students in the limited seats in college at a time when over 10% of Americans are out of "work and their families are struggling to train for new jobs and pay for college. Why would you support in-state tuition for the ILLEGALS that will attract more future additional ILLEGALS to the United States and train ILLEGALS for jobs it is illegal for them to have. These students should go back to their HOME countries and stop draining our resources that could be used to assist United States Citizens and not the ILLEGALS! Just follow the money! Some of Elitist Politicians and their Elitist Political Contributors want to continue to have United States Citizens pay the benefits for their ILLEGALS while they continue to have their BOTTOM LINES increased at the taxpayer's expense!"

"Urgent Civil Rights case".....this always gets my attention....
Don't civil rights pertain to U.S. Citizens? Meaning if you're a citizen...you have a right to find out if your civil rights are being abused.....right? But if you're not a U.S. citizen....this doesn't pertain to you....they aren't the rights of an illegal immigrant....
The laws that are here to protect us....are for us....the citizens....
Or so it should be...