Congressman, illegal immigrant students push for tuition law


By LAURA WIDES-MUNOZ
AP Hispanic Affairs Writer
March 12. 2007 3:52PM

Andres Garcia remembers the day his mother tossed him over the fence to fellow migrants along the California border as his family fled the war in Guatemala, dreaming of education and a better life in the U.S.

Fifteen years later, Garcia's dreams are still deferred. Each year, roughly 65,000 students like Garcia are unable to attend college because of their illegal immigration status, which disqualifies them from paying in-state tuition, making even a two-year college degree unattainable.

On Monday, Garcia was among more than a dozen young adults to stand with U.S. Reps. Lincoln and Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Miami, and call on lawmakers to finally pass a perennial bill that would enable immigrants like himself to afford college and eventually earn citizenship.

"I grew up here. I got good grades, but I've watched my friends go to college, and every year it gets more frustrating," said Garcia, 21, who works at an aviary to support his mother and five siblings, but hopes to study business and one day open a Guatemalan restaurant.

For more than half a decade, lawmakers have unsuccessfully introduced the "American Dream Act," but experts say this may be the year it becomes a reality.

"Congress, this year, is in the hands of leadership more inclined to pass comprehensive immigration reform than those of the past few Congresses," said the bill's co-sponsor, U.S. Rep. Howard Berman, D-Los Angeles, referring to the new Democratic majority. "The Dream Act will be included in that comprehensive legislation."

But even under the Democrats, comprehensive immigration reform for the country's estimated 11 million illegal immigrants may be too controversial to pass before the 2008 election season - making the "Dream Act," a palatable fallback plan.

"The Dream Act is an attractive alternative for the House Democrats who fear the political fallout of an amnesty but want to be able to say they did something," said Mark Krikorian, executive Director of the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Immigration Studies, which favors tighter immigration controls.

The bill would allow qualified students, brought to the U.S. at least five years ago and before they turned 16, to get temporary residency while they complete at least two years of college or serve in the U.S. military. Permanent residency could be granted after six years.

Lincoln Diaz-Balart, also a co-sponsor of the bill, agreed the tuition bill may have more traction than a broader reform bill.

"Obviously, we're pushing for comprehensive immigration reform. It is my hope that at the very least, we can achieve the Dream Act," he said.

Diaz-Balart called it unfair to punish people like Garcia for the sins of their parents.

"These kids didn't make the decision to come here. It was their parents," he said.

But Krikorian said allowing illegal immigrants to pay in-state for college - or even attend college - encourages more illegal immigrants to come.

"It's an amnesty," he said, "a small one, but it sends the message that illegal immigration will be rewarded. Krikorian said he might be more inclined to support the bill if it came attached to a broader enforcement effort.

For Garcia, who speaks Spanish, English and the Mayan Indian Kanjobal language of his parents, the issue is not about rewards but about wasting the country's youth and talent.

"I know I have so much potential that I am not using," he said. "I want to be a leader. I'm young and energetic now, but I won't be young forever.'



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