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  1. #1
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    Undocumented students advocate Illinois bill granting financial aid

    By: Walbert Castillo April 4, 2015 10:44 am

    Undocumented student groups from both public and private universities across the state of Illinois have collectively joined efforts to push for HB 3528 — a bill that would allow Illinois student residents, who meet the requirements, access to student aid and benefits funded by the State.

    In the event that an individual is not a citizen or a permanent resident of the U.S., he or she must file an affidavit stating to apply to become a permanent resident of the U.S. and provide that information to their university of college, according to HB 3528.

    In order be eligible for student aid and benefits, some of the qualifications stated on the bill include: the individual must have resided with his or her parent or guardian while attending a public or private high school in Illinois, the individual must have graduated from a public or private high school or received the equivalent of a high school diploma in Illinois.

    The bill was passed by the Higher Education Committee on March 18, 2015 with a bipartisan vote of 10-5 and has been sent to the House of Representatives. In addition, the bill would amend the HB 0060 – a bill passed in 2003 that would allow aliens the same privilege of qualifying for resident status for tuition and fee purposes as a citizen of the U.S.

    Members of DREAM Action NIU from Northern Illinois University, Fearless Undocumented Alliance from the University of Illinois at Chicago, RISE from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Undocumented Students and Allies from the Illinois Institute of Technology and high school students, visited the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield, Ill., on March 25, 2015, to raise awareness and gain support from the legislators as the bill advances to the house floor.

    Disawar, executive director of RISE at the U. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, says the lobbying trip was essential in putting a face to this issue by having undocumented students speak with legislators about their story and why they want to seek higher education.

    “If we’re not all united with this, it’s only going to show one face and it’s only going to show the experiences of one university. It’s a statewide issue, not just a UIC issue,” says Natalie Cruz, president of Fearless Undocumented Alliance at U. of Illinois at Chicago.

    Students reached out to a total of 21 representatives and senators ranging from republicans, democrats, supporters, non-supporters and co-sponsors during the lobbying trip, says Evan Keller, political director of RISE at the U. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

    Undocumented students cannot receive any federal financial aid, which includes Pell Grants and Federal Work Study Program, according to Democratic Illinois State Rep. Carol Ammons.

    “I think giving equal opportunity to aid from the State of Illinois is the just action to take,” said Ammons. “I know that many undocumented students that have the academic ability to attend college in Illinois do not simply due to the fact they are ineligible to receive any sort of aid. This must change.”

    Republican Illinois State Rep. Terri Bryant declined to speak to USA TODAY College in regards to HB 3528.

    Both representatives will be participating in the house vote for the bill.

    In order to gain more support of the bill, Disawar says RISE has created an online advocacy tool where people can view the stories of undocumented students online and with a click of a button, send a letter or tweet of the story directly to representatives.

    “This is very powerful because when these representatives see a lot of these letters that are just stories, it really helps push these members to pass the bill,” says Disawar.

    Rev. Dennis Holtschneider, president of DePaul University, says he recognizes the fact that undocumented students are being shut out of college and the state economy is being deprived of the talent these students can offer.

    “As Illinois’ largest private university, DePaul is able to assist some of these students, but our counterparts at public institutions cannot easily provide this much-needed aid,” said Rev. Holtschneider.

    Salgado says she is very fortunate to be a student at NIU because of the support NIU President Doug Baker shows for the undocumented students.

    “We’re able to talk to him, he meets with us, he listens to us and he shows that he supports the bill,” says Salgado. “I feel that undocumented students at NIU are more fortunate than others because I know in other institutions, they don’t recognize the undocumented student population.”

    If the bill were to be passed in Illinois, it would be the 6th state in the nation to grant financial aid to undocumented students. These states include: California, Texas, Minnesota, New Mexico and Washington.

    Although undocumented students are eligible to apply for financial aid in California, Yael Pineda, administrative project director of the AB540 Project of IDEAS at UCLA, says there are still various challenges to be met.

    For instance, Salgado says students who do not attend a high school in California for at least three years are not eligible for financial aid. However, they are still eligible for the Board of Governors waiver, which provides financial assistance to undocumented students who attend community college.

    “The biggest issue is how do we convince people that we’re all a part of these communities here in Illinois? Personally speaking, I lived in the U.S. since I was nine months old . . . How much more can I be a part of the community? I am from Illinois, said Cruz. “Everyone should be entitled to have equal opportunities to access higher education.”

    http://college.usatoday.com/2015/04/...financial-aid/
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  2. #2
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    Very, very frightening!! I from memory compare the apparent quality of student and education prior to Pell grants. Then compare that to America's politics and government. Frankly, it is not a comparison that would encourage assisting anyone's college expense funding. That surely makes us smart enough to never fund financial assistance for alien advanced education.

    All the existing funding for aliens now demonstrates clearly that educating others through public funding did not work out well for Americans. I cannot see how doing more of a failing policy is going to make Americans smarter or more successful. Pure non-sense!

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