New Congress More Amenable to the DREAM Act
By Charles Dervarics
A bill to eliminate many higher education barriers for undocumented students may get new life in the now Democrat-controlled U.S. Congress, say advocates who hope to break a six-year stalemate on the issue.
Student groups and minority-serving organizations are touting the benefits of the DREAM Act, a bill that would open a path to immigration for college-bound students who have lived most of their lives in the United States but lack legal status. Under the bill, students who finish high school and at least two years of college could obtain permanent legal residency. They also could get greater access to in-state tuition rates.
“There are signs that Congress is beginning to take this seriously,” says Melissa Lazarin, associate director for education policy at the National Council of La Raza. She says she is encouraged that lawmakers have introduced the DREAM Act in both the House and the Senate already this year. “In past years, we haven’t been able to move this quickly,” she says.
In introducing the bill, lawmakers noted that college access for these students may help immigrant communities as well as the national economy.
