Transcript DREAM Act - Latino/a Educational Achievement Project

Improving access to
higher education for
undocumented students
Latino/a Educational Achievement Project
May 2007
Founded in 1998 to improve academic achievement
of Latino/a students in Washington State to.
To accomplish its mission, LEAP:
 Utilizes a statewide network of educators, students,
community leaders and institutions to develop annual
educational policy priorities.
 Advises state elected officials at all levels on
education policies aimed at improving academic
achievement for Latino students.
 Helps students gain access to higher education, to
understand how government works, and to prepare
to become future leaders in our state and nation.
2006-07 LEAP Education Priorities
•
Mentor and train high school students, and grant them full-tuition college
scholarships provided they agree to obtain teaching certificates and teach in
Washington’s public schools.
•
Provide college and career readiness centers for students who are behind
academically beginning in the 10th grade or earlier; such centers should be
open on weekends, evenings, and during summer months, and available to
students in age-appropriate environments through age 21, as allowed by state
law.
•
Extend the State Need Grant (SNG) program to undocumented student. The
SNG provides college financial aid to students whose families cannot afford the
cost of college.
•
Encourage the United States Congress to grant legal residency to collegebound students who have been educated in our high schools. (The American
DREAM Act, pending in Congress, would accomplish this.)
In-state tuition for undocumented
students in Washington State
House Bill 1079
Signed by Governor Gary Locke, May 2003
Enables undocumented students to pay in-state tuition
to attend Washington colleges and universities.
Expanding Access to Higher Education
HB 1079 Eligibility
 Lived in Washington State for 3 years immediately before
receiving a high school diploma or a general equivalent
degree (GED).
 Completed full senior year at a Washington high school.
 Continuously resided in Washington since earning the
high school diploma or GED.s
HB 1079: Access to Higher Education
Washington Higher Education Residency
Affidavit/Declaration/Certification
HB 1079 students must:
1. Meet eligibility requirements (see
prior slide).
2. Submit an admissions
application to any Washington
State pubic institution of higher
education
3. Submit the House Bill 1079
Affidavit (shown) along with each
college application
Note: HB 1079 does not change a
student’s legal status, nor does it
make the students for state or
federal financial aid.
Effective July 1, 2003, Washington state law changed the definition of “resident.” The
law makes certain students, who are not permanent residents or citizens of the United
States, eligible for resident student status-and eligible to pay resident tuition rates-when
they attend public colleges and universities in the state. The law does not make these
students eligible to receive need-based state or federal financial aid. To qualify for
resident status, students must complete this affidavit/declaration/certification if they are
not permanent residents or citizens of the United States but have met the following
conditions:
Resided in Washington State for three (3) years immediately prior to receiving a high
school diploma, and completed the full senior year at a Washington high school,
or
Completed the equivalent of a high school diploma and resided in Washington state for
the three (3) years immediately before receiving the equivalent of the diploma,
and
Continuously resided in the state since earning the high school diploma or its equivalent.
________________________________________
_____________________
Print full name
Date of birth
(mo/day/yr)
________________________________________
Student Identification Number (if available)
Relationship to college or university: __Applicant
__ Current Student
I certify that:
I will file an application to become a permanent resident of the United States as soon as I
am eligible to apply. I am also willing to engage in activities designed to prepare me for
citizenship, including citizenship and civics review courses.
I certify or declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of Washington that
the foregoing is true and correct.
_____________________
_
Affidavit available at www.leapwa.org
Expanding Access to Higher Education
HB 1079, the DREAM Act (HR 1275) and Immigration Reform
State Law:
ENACTED IN WASHINGTON IN 2003 and
seven other states in the nation
HB 1079 allows undocumented students to pay resident tuition
in our state, but it does not affect federal immigration policy.
Federal Law:
PENDING IN THE U.S. CONGRESS
The American DREAM Act, if approved, is an important and
necessary first step in changing federal immigration so that
deserving students who have been educated in the U.S. can live
and work legally.
Education Advances in the United States
States with In-State Tuition for Undocumented Students
The American DREAM Act (HR 1275)
If approved by the U.S. Congress and President Bush, the American DREAM
Act would grant temporary legal residency to undocumented students who
graduate from high school, allowing them to live and work in the U.S. legally.
To be eligible, students must:
• Have lived in the U.S. for at least 5 years;
• Been brought to the U.S. at the age of 15 or younger;
• Be of good moral character.
Within six years of obtaining temporary legal residency, to be considered
for permanent legal residency (and citizenship) a student must:
• Graduate from a two-year college; or,
• Complete two years towards a four-year degree; or,
• Serve in the U.S. military for 2 years.
Fair and Sensible Immigration Policies
Two-step Strategy for Immigration Reform:
1. Approve the American DREAM Act that permits college-bound
students educated in the United States to live, work and attend
college legally.
2. Approve comprehensive immigration reform that is fair to
employers and workers, and includes those families who have
contributed for several years to the economic and social fabric of
the United States.
Immigrant students--deserving scholars
in Washington
“… talented young people whose only ‘crime’ was obeying their parents
when they crossed the border. Some came as infants so they bear even
less culpability.”
“While more and more are graduating from our high schools--some with
honor, others as valedictorians of their senior classes, they’re conflicted
about going to college.”
“Despite the obstacles, some find a way to earn college degrees, fully
prepared to teach in our schools or to be lawyers, engineers and
doctors..”
-- Governor Christine Gregoire
letter to U.S. Senator Patty Murray
March 31, 2006
The value of immigrant workers
in Washington
“Washington’s economy lives and breathes through agriculture, an
industry in which at least 60 percent of its labor force is immigrant labor.”
“The value of the hand harvested fruit industry exceeds $1.6 billion a
year.”
“We are one of the top five states in the country in farm worker
employment. And key crops, like our apples and cherries, are heavily
dependent on migrant and seasonal farm workers.”
-- Governor Christine Gregoire
letter to U.S. Senator Patty Murray
March 31, 2006
The value of immigrant workers
in Washington
United States Senators and Members of the House of
Representatives understand the value of immigrant families:
“The raids, the well publicized confrontation and, above all, anxious calls
for help from onion farmers sent two Republican lawmakers from Georgia
hurrying home from Washington (D.C.) to rein in the Immigration and
Naturalization Service … within days, the INS agreed not to interfere with
this year’s harvest.”
Washington Post Weekly, July 13, 1998
“When similar raids were conducted during the cherry harvest in our
state, the Tacoma News Tribune, June 8, 1997, reported that three
members of Washington’s Congressional delegation joined farmers in
complaining about ‘overzealous tactics’ and ‘too much INS activity.’ “
-- Ricardo Sanchez (op-ed)
Yakima Herald Republic
May 13, 2007
The American DREAM Act
an important first step
“… the vast majority of U.S. citizens would applaud the
Congress for demonstrating that it has the wisdom, courage
and compassion to do what is right for thousands of scholars
who were educated here, and who did not willfully break our
laws.
“No young scholar educated in the United States should be
without hope of an education and without hope of a future.”
-- Ricardo Sanchez (op-ed)
Yakima Herald Republic
May 13, 2007
DREAM Act Strategy
1. Encourage organizations or institutions (school boards, board of trustees,
regents) to approve a resolution in support of the DREAM Act (sample
available at www.leapwa.org.
2. Forward the resolution to Washington State’s Congressional Delegation
(contact information available at www.leapwa.org.)
3. Schedule a meeting with your congressional representative to discuss the
American DREAM Act and comprehensive immigration reform. Present
resolutions from your local area’s educational institutions and be prepared
to explain the benefits and justice of fair and reasonable immigration
policies, beginning with the DREAM Act. A diverse, small delegation (4-6
people) that includes students, educators, and visible, well-respected
community leaders is recommended.
4. Send signed resolutions to LEAP office:
Latino/a Educational Achievement Project
PO Box 98000, MS: 99-285
Des Moines, WA 98198
For more information: [email protected]
206.878.3710 ext. 5176