From: info@nclr.org

Contact:
Marie Watteau
Olga Medina
(202) 785-1670

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Mar 26, 2009



NCLR APPLAUDS THE REINTRODUCTION OF THE "DREAM ACT"

Washington, DC--The National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States, commends Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Richard Lugar (R-IN) for reintroducing the "DREAM Act" today and Representatives Howard Berman (D-CA), Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA), and Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL) for reintroducing the House version of this legislation, the "American Dream Act." These bipartisan bills would allow immigrant students who are raised in the U.S. and graduate from U.S. high schools to attend college and start on the path to citizenship.

"One of the best ways for our nation to recover from the current economic crisis is to have an educated workforce. Students must have the opportunity to pursue a college education," said Janet MurguĂ*a, NCLR President and CEO. "Since the 'DREAM Act' was first introduced in 2001, too many of our nation's best and brightest students have graduated from high school with no prospect of going to college. Their experiences illustrate one of the many problems of our dysfunctional and outdated immigration system. We cannot continue to waste this talent."

Every year, American high schools grant diplomas to 65,000 immigrant students who were brought to this country at a young age. Many of these youth have attended U.S. schools for most of their lives, but their immigration status bars them from opportunities that make a college education affordable, including in-state tuition rates, loans and grants, most private scholarships, and the ability to work legally. Despite their long-term residence in the U.S., these students are unable to further their educational accomplishments or fully contribute to the only country they know and call home.

The "DREAM Act" and the "American Dream Act" would address these challenges by restoring states' rights to determine residency requirements for in-state tuition and establish a path to obtaining legal status for immigrant youth.

"NCLR remains committed to advancing the 'DREAM Act' as a part of comprehensive immigration reform. We see this as the first step in the upcoming immigration debate in Congress. Our country is deprived when hardworking immigrant youth are unable to pursue a college education and contribute to our economy. These students have extraordinary potential, and we must cultivate it to address the challenges before us," MurguĂ*a concluded.

For more information, go to www.nclr.org.

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