The California Dream Act

The California DREAM Act or Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act is a package of California state laws that allow children who were brought into the US under the age of 16 without proper visas/immigration documentation who have attended school on a regular basis and otherwise meet in-state tuition and GPA requirements to apply for student financial aid benefits.

The California Dream Act is not a path to citizenship like federal dream act, but is more a path to higher education. The California is made up two bills AB 130 signed by Gov. Jerry Brown on July 25, 2011 and AB 131 also signed by Gov. Jerry Brown on October 8, 2011.

AB 130 allows students who meet AB 540 criteria to apply for and receive non-state funded scholarships for public colleges and universities.

 The AB 540 requirements are:

Have attended a California high school for 3 or more full academic years Have or will graduate from a California high school or have attained a G.E.D.; or received a passing mark on the California High School Proficiency Exam

Register or be currently enrolled at an accredited institution of public higher education in California

File or plan to file an affidavit as required by individual institutions, stating that he/she will apply for legal residency as soon as possible;

Not hold a valid non-immigrant visa

AB540

AB 540 is a California law that has allowed undocumented students to pay in state tuition and not out of state. The requirements for AB 540 is

attended high school 3 or more full academic years between 9 and 12. Also does not have to be consecutive.

Graduate from a California high school, attained a G.E.D, or get a passing score on the California high school proficiency exam  

Register or be currently enrolled at an accredited institution of public higher education in

California;

File or plan to file an affidavit as required by individual institutions, stating that he/she will apply for legal residency as soon as possible;

Not hold a valid non-immigrant visa

If they do not met this requirements then they still can go to school if accepted by that college but they will be required to pay the non-resident fees.

http://ab540.com/whatisab540.html

AB130

it allows students who have met the in state tuition requirements to apply and receive scholarships derived from non-state funds and it has no cost to the state

Undocumented students cost the state between 23 and 65 million a year in funding. They also believe that they are gambling their money because the undocumented students still cannot work legally in the U.S. after college. So the state believes that they will be losing a lot of money by giving them financial aid and then the undocumented student will not be able to work once they receive their degree

The Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund has awarded $1 million to the University of California, Berkeley, for scholarships for undocumented students — a life changer for students like Rivera. This is the single largest gift for scholarships of this type at a U.S. university.

  The gift will assist the nearly 200 undocumented students at UC Berkeley from 20 different countries who currently qualify, and will help more in the future. These students are not eligible for federal Pell grants, federally backed loans or work-study positions. Their average family income is $24,000.

Undocumented Latino youth in the United States face futures clouded by fewer rights than their documented peers and the constant fear of deportation. Such status constraints usually aren't fully understood until young adulthood, said UC Irvine anthropologist Leo Chavez, and the awareness often serves as a catalyst for political and civic involvement.

  "Rites of passage common to American youth — getting a driver's license, traveling, working and applying to college — are either denied, unattainable or dangerous to pursue for undocumented immigrants," he said. "It's at this point that many realize society sees them as disposable, as easily cast away. Yet rather than merely give up, they become involved in campaigns to change the law."

The Eva Longoria Foundation's vision is to empower Latinas to reach their potential through education and entrepreneurship. The Eva Longoria Foundation supports programs which help Latinas excel in school and attend college.

Issues:

California dream act could affect higher education

Dream act could worsen the state of California’s economic crisis and put the state in a deeper economic hole.

Providing The Dream act to undocumented students may increase the state tuition to Americans and lessen the amount of money given to American students. The Dream act would affect private and public financial aid.

Giving higher education to undocumented students doesn’t necessarily mean that they will have a chance to work right after school. In order for them to work the Federal Law that allows undocumented people to work has to be passed. So, in other words it would be a waste of money.

Once the dream act is fully implemented it should cause about 65 million in state funding

Undocumented students must meet certain requirements to be considered for the dream act

A large number of undocumented students could cause further strain on the California system

Undocumented people would take away from legal citizens

  Solutions

The bill represents an investment in the future of the state in that undocumented students would be given greater access to higher education

It would help stimulate the economy by creating more factories, companies, business and jobs

Students would add to the pool of qualified workers while contributing taxes back to the state

Estimated that there will be a gap of 6% between jobs needed and qualified workers in the state of California by the year 2025. More qualified undocumented workers would be able to take these jobs if the dream act successfully applied to them.

A heavy amount of population in California is undocumented, so by providing them with more opportunity will elevate the state to the top

GET INVOLVED AT CSUN!

Mission Statement:

“We are a family advocating for immigrant rights through education, activism, and moral support to empower, liberate and bring equality to our community”

A message to Cal State Northridge students:

Dear CSUN DREAMer,

Did you know that there is an AB-540 student club at CSUN run by and for AB-540 students? The club’s name is Dreams to be Heard. We are students who know and understand from first hand experience that being an undocumented student at CSUN is difficult; paying for school, commuting and working are some of our daily challenges as dreamers. This message is to invite you to get involved or connected with an organized club of students.

Some of the benefits of participating with D2BH are:

- Network with other dreamers about scholarships, internships, and job opportunities.

- Meet students from different fields of study who understand your situation.

- Make a difference in the lives of our immigrant communities.

Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles - WISE UP!

  Mission

Vision: A society in which every individual is respected regardless of his or her cultural background, ethnicity, race and legal status.

Since 2001, CHIRLA’s Wise Up project has been the foundation of immigrant youth organizing in Los Angeles and across the state of California.  This youth leadership project grew from immigrant youth’s absence from the conversation about immigration reform and immigrant rights.  CHIRLA was crucial in ensuring that the immigrant youth voice was heard across the county.  Wise Up! was born when immigrant students began mobilizing to support  the passage of AB540.  After months of dedicated activism, Wise Up! witnessed history being made when then-Governor Gray Davis signed the bill into law on October 12, 2001.  And by the following week, Wise Up! launched a new campaign: to pass the Student Adjustment Act and DREAM Act legislation in Congress.