A prominent group of more than 5,000 colleges and universities is supporting legislation that would offer some undocumented youths a path to citizenship through college or the military.
The College Board, best known for the SAT and advanced placement tests it administers, is stepping into the contentious issue for the first time.
The bill the College Board is supporting, known as the Dream Act, would allow students who illegally entered the U.S. when they were 15 or younger to apply for conditional legal status if they have lived in the country for five or more years and graduated from high school or earned a GED. If they then attended college or served in the military for two or more years, they could be granted full citizenship.
Conditional legal status could make the immigrants eligible for in-state college tuition, depending on local laws, and would allow them to compete for some forms of federal financial assistance. A 2007 UCLA report estimated that 65,000 undocumented students graduate from U.S. high schools every year.
The College Board̢۪s trustees have voted unanimously to support the Dream Act, said James Montoya, a vice president of the College Board.
“These are students who have gone through our K-12 system and have achieved in a very high manner,â€Â Montoya said.
But Ira Mehlman, spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, said the Dream Act allows illegal immigrants to take scholarship opportunities away from native U.S. residents.
“If you ask any illegal alien why they came to America, the answer, invariably is ‘Well, I wanted to do better for my family,’ and this gives them precisely what they broke the law to achieve,â€Â Mehlman said.
The Senate voted on the Dream Act in 2007, winning a majority but lacking the 60 votes needed to end a filibuster. The measure was then folded into more comprehensive immigration legislation, which died. It was reintroduced in the House and Senate last month.
By Ben Meyerson / McClatchy Tribune
D'Andre Jackson • Jun 4, 2009 at 9:54 pm
if you’re illegally here, you can always go back over the border and not enroll in classes that taxpayers support with their hard earned income………hopefully you’re not paying the California student rate.
D'Andre Jackson • Jun 5, 2009 at 4:54 am
if you’re illegally here, you can always go back over the border and not enroll in classes that taxpayers support with their hard earned income………hopefully you’re not paying the California student rate.
caty • Jun 4, 2009 at 11:49 am
are there some classes that immigrants can take free over the summer…or any help
that we can get…
caty • Jun 4, 2009 at 6:49 pm
are there some classes that immigrants can take free over the summer…or any help
that we can get…
Shaggy Dog • May 2, 2009 at 1:13 pm
well——more people to compete with for jobs, more people who can freely evade taxes, more people who are protected by the Constitution from deportation if they commit serious crimes, those citizens then have the right to bring their immediate family members to the U.S.——many reasons to be cautious about simply assigning citizenship to undeserving groups……..Legalization is the only way to improve things, but it should be done giving the American public an assurance that our southern border will start to be enforced and start to track illegal movement in both directions.
Shaggy Dog • May 2, 2009 at 8:13 pm
well——more people to compete with for jobs, more people who can freely evade taxes, more people who are protected by the Constitution from deportation if they commit serious crimes, those citizens then have the right to bring their immediate family members to the U.S.——many reasons to be cautious about simply assigning citizenship to undeserving groups……..Legalization is the only way to improve things, but it should be done giving the American public an assurance that our southern border will start to be enforced and start to track illegal movement in both directions.
junior • May 2, 2009 at 11:57 am
I’m thinking the more people we turn into citizens just means more money we can make in taxes. How is that a bad thing?
junior • May 2, 2009 at 6:57 pm
I’m thinking the more people we turn into citizens just means more money we can make in taxes. How is that a bad thing?
No More Barack • May 2, 2009 at 11:03 am
Rewarding illegal (undocumented) individuals who have enrolled at a public university at the expense of the taxpayers of each state and failed to pay foreign student tution as VIsa holding students do? So they can eventually compete for jobs with rightful students? Yeah makes sense to me……ha
I’d maybe argue that the military service portion of the whole equation should be mandated if college students want to eventually fall under some revision of a ‘DREAM Act.’ Serve two or more years, sure you should be granted some sorm of legal status. You shouldn’t be able to go on to petition your relatives in Mexico and Nicaragua, however…….
No More Barack • May 2, 2009 at 6:03 pm
Rewarding illegal (undocumented) individuals who have enrolled at a public university at the expense of the taxpayers of each state and failed to pay foreign student tution as VIsa holding students do? So they can eventually compete for jobs with rightful students? Yeah makes sense to me……ha
I’d maybe argue that the military service portion of the whole equation should be mandated if college students want to eventually fall under some revision of a ‘DREAM Act.’ Serve two or more years, sure you should be granted some sorm of legal status. You shouldn’t be able to go on to petition your relatives in Mexico and Nicaragua, however…….
junior • May 2, 2009 at 12:50 am
And don’t forget, all of our ancestors were immigrants at one time
junior • May 2, 2009 at 7:50 am
And don’t forget, all of our ancestors were immigrants at one time
Jose • May 1, 2009 at 9:38 am
Oh sorry if I offended believers… Intelligent Design is a real partisan comment whoops sorry. So I fully retract and apologize before anyone gets offended. I love to study religion (Christianity), but I’m not a follower.
🙂 Okay can we make peace? 🙂
Jose • May 1, 2009 at 4:38 pm
Oh sorry if I offended believers… Intelligent Design is a real partisan comment whoops sorry. So I fully retract and apologize before anyone gets offended. I love to study religion (Christianity), but I’m not a follower.
🙂 Okay can we make peace? 🙂
Jose • May 1, 2009 at 9:36 am
Oh one last thing! I always thought why to be a US resident people didn’t have to pass an intelligence exam. You know with all the un-educated people running around trying to legislate their backwards views into our schools and our lives (Intelligent Design).
How is it that just about anyone can get in without an academic standard test? A bachelor’s seems like a nice bar. 🙂
P.S.: I know there would be medical conditions that would really bring hard times to disabled or people with down syndrome, but I’m speaking about your general populous here.
Jose • May 1, 2009 at 4:36 pm
Oh one last thing! I always thought why to be a US resident people didn’t have to pass an intelligence exam. You know with all the un-educated people running around trying to legislate their backwards views into our schools and our lives (Intelligent Design).
How is it that just about anyone can get in without an academic standard test? A bachelor’s seems like a nice bar. 🙂
P.S.: I know there would be medical conditions that would really bring hard times to disabled or people with down syndrome, but I’m speaking about your general populous here.
Jose • May 1, 2009 at 9:28 am
I’m a mexican immigrant.
I think Andrews is wrong. Some people may not integrate, but most of us have do and love it here as it is. The only pet peeve I have is religion, since I am an atheist. It can be pretty scary.
The US despite all its imperfections is a great place. Even here in our community we have citizens from all over the world. I’m in love with a white man that’s proud of being an american why would I want to take that from him? :S and I love biology! Now only if I could tell everyone I’m an atheist that would be great.
Jose • May 1, 2009 at 4:28 pm
I’m a mexican immigrant.
I think Andrews is wrong. Some people may not integrate, but most of us have do and love it here as it is. The only pet peeve I have is religion, since I am an atheist. It can be pretty scary.
The US despite all its imperfections is a great place. Even here in our community we have citizens from all over the world. I’m in love with a white man that’s proud of being an american why would I want to take that from him? :S and I love biology! Now only if I could tell everyone I’m an atheist that would be great.
WEE • May 1, 2009 at 9:17 am
“Citizenship is something people have died for for generations.”
wow, and I thought you had to be BORN here not DIE.
Like always people with your dumb arguments GLADLY ignore the HUGE role immigrants and ILLEGAL ALIENS played and continue to have in the history of this country.
WEE • May 1, 2009 at 4:17 pm
“Citizenship is something people have died for for generations.”
wow, and I thought you had to be BORN here not DIE.
Like always people with your dumb arguments GLADLY ignore the HUGE role immigrants and ILLEGAL ALIENS played and continue to have in the history of this country.
EWW • May 1, 2009 at 8:52 am
of course the college board supports the dream act. the ivory tower liberal elite wants is full of mindless left wingers. And how should simply going to college give you the chance to compete for full citizenship? Citizenship is something people have died for for generations.
EWW • May 1, 2009 at 3:52 pm
of course the college board supports the dream act. the ivory tower liberal elite wants is full of mindless left wingers. And how should simply going to college give you the chance to compete for full citizenship? Citizenship is something people have died for for generations.
M A Andrews • May 1, 2009 at 2:53 am
Illegal Aliens are NOT coming to the USA to be Americans,they are
here to be Mexican Nationals in a Mexican nation
within the borders of the USA and as Juan Hernandez
Mexico’s Minister of Mexicans Abroad has said publicly
” Our people in the USA will think Mexico First into the 7th generation”!
M A Andrews • May 1, 2009 at 9:53 am
Illegal Aliens are NOT coming to the USA to be Americans,they are
here to be Mexican Nationals in a Mexican nation
within the borders of the USA and as Juan Hernandez
Mexico’s Minister of Mexicans Abroad has said publicly
” Our people in the USA will think Mexico First into the 7th generation”!
matthew fetts • May 1, 2009 at 12:34 am
Anything that is just and fair will come to pass. This act will pass because at it’s very heart lies the core American values of “life, liberty, and a pursuit of happiness”. May God Bless America and all it’s children, both documented and undocumented.
matthew fetts • May 1, 2009 at 7:34 am
Anything that is just and fair will come to pass. This act will pass because at it’s very heart lies the core American values of “life, liberty, and a pursuit of happiness”. May God Bless America and all it’s children, both documented and undocumented.