Discover Top Posts Tagged with #tuition equity

Week of April 7 to April 14, 2015

Below is a roundup of news, events, research, and other resources to support undocumented students in higher education. For more information or to share your links to be included for next week, please contact Zenen Jaimes Perez ([email protected]) for questions.

Please feel free to spread this to your networks and sign up for the listserv here. Visit our blog to see resources from previous weeks.

National & State News

The Atlantic: What Undocumented Students Bring to the Classroom (04/13/2015)

Teaching requires flexibility, the ability to manage a class that could be made up of English-language learners, half-comatose stoners, and confident National Merit semi-finalists alike—and somehow inspire all factions. At the California public school where I currently teach, the population is roughly two-thirds Latino; the ratio was far larger on my last campus. Some of these students are undocumented and, in my experience, likely to have language-acquisition needs, contend with family and work obligations, and feel alienated in the school community.

WABE NPR [Georgia]: Ga. DACA Students File Supreme Court Appeal Over In-State Tuition (04/13/2015)

A group of undocumented students has filed an appeal this week with the Georgia Supreme Court, challenging Georgia’s in-state tuition policy after losing their case in lower courts. Thirty-nine plaintiffs filed their lawsuit in August 2013, but two lower courts have since ruled the state is protected from such lawsuits. Thirty-nine plaintiffs filed their lawsuit in August 2013, but two lower courts have since ruled the state is protected from such lawsuits. But under President Barack Obama's deferred action program for childhood arrivals, or DACA, the students argue they are now lawfully present.

Huffington Post: Fight for the Texas Dream Act Continues (04/13/2015)

The battle of the Texas Dream Act continues. A bill known as SB1819, sponsored by Texas Republican Senators Donna Campbell, Tom Creighton, and Lois Kolkhorst, is headed for the Senate floor to be heard and voted upon. A priority of Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, who promised to repeal the law that has served as a national model for states that have granted in-state tuition for undocumented students, the bill has been fast tracked by Republicans as the Texas Legislative session approaches its final weeks.

Think Progress: The Appeals Court Panel Considering Obama’s Immigration Policies Is Stacked With Right-Wing Judges (04/13/2015)

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit is a severely conservative court. Among other things, a panel of the Fifth Circuit once suggested that undocumented immigrants are not entitled to the Fourth Amendment’s protections against illegal searches and seizures. So the fact that a challenge to President Obama’s recently announced programs that could offer relief to nearly 5 million undocumented immigrants is now pending before the Fifth Circuit was always likely to bring bad news for those immigrants.

NJ.com: Vanquishing the Dream: Undocumented kids need tuition help (04/12/2015)

The Tuition Equality Act of 2013 was supposed to help young people convert their noblest aspirations into practical realities. Particularly the so-called DREAMers: At last, higher education would be within the reach of these undocumented immigrants, thanks to a prudent government decision which allowed them to pay in-state tuition rates. But the fact that none of those TAG awards go to DREAMers makes the message clear: "We've invested a quarter-million on each one of them - then we basically ask the undocumented students to drop off a cliff," says Assemblyman Gary Schaer (D-Passaic).

The Arizona Republic: ASU students march for tuition equality for 'dreamers' (04/08/2015)

About 70 students marched across Arizona State University's Tempe campus on Tuesday to collectively ask the state Board of Regents to grant in-state tuition at Arizona's universities to deferred-action recipients. Because the Arizona Board of Regents will be voting on tuition concerns in the next month, demonstrators are urging the governing body to act now in favor of students who qualify for Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, said Jesus Cisneros, an ASU graduate student and member of the Latino Graduate Student Alliance, which helped organize the walk.

Diverse Issues in Higher Education: Lines Drawn in Texas’ Undocumented Tuition Battle (04/08/2015)

Undocumented students in Texas are eligible for in-state tuition at public colleges and universities, but some Texas state lawmakers are attempting to change that. Under Senate Bill 1819, brought forward by state Senator Donna Campbell, institutions of higher education would charge undocumented students out-of-state tuition. The bill was first brought to a senate subcommittee on border security Monday and was passed Tuesday to the Veterans Affairs and Military Installations Committee. According to the Texas Tribune, Campbell said at the Monday hearing that the rationale behind repealing the law was to ensure that state resources go to legal residents first.

Times Free Press [Tennessee]: In-state tuition bill closer to passage, but now applies to fewer undocumented students (04/08/2015)

A bill allowing undocumented children to attend Tennessee public colleges at in-state tuition rates is now flying to the Senate floor after backers included a provision restricting applicants to students legally authorized to be in the U.S. under a 2012 federal program. Senate Finance Committee members approved the bill, sponsored by Sen. Todd Gardenhire, R-Chattanooga, on a 7-3 vote. The House companion bill passed the House Education Instruction and Programs Committee later on a voice vote with prominent opponents of illegal immigration backing the bill.

The Boston Globe: Tufts will recruit, provide aid to undocumented students (04/07/2015)

Tufts University announced Tuesday it will “proactively and openly” recruit undocumented students and offer financial aid to eligible undergraduate students, a clear declaration that immigration advocates hailed as a significant victory. Under the new policy, the private university will consider all students who are in the country illegally as regular domestic applicants, eligible for the same university aid as US citizens. Because undocumented students are ineligible for federal financial aid, the university will make up the difference out of its funds for undergraduates who cannot afford to pay their own way.

The State Free Press: Present, future students call on the Board of Regents to change tuition rates for deferred action students (04/07/2015)

While ASU students scurried to and from class on Tuesday afternoon, a group of 100 students and community members marched through the heart of the Tempe campus calling on the Arizona Board of Regents to give deferred action recipients in-state tuition rates. Student organizations including DREAMzone, the Arizona Students' Association and MEChA gathered to show solidarity for students who have received legal status under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy.

La Voz [Arizona]: Estudiantes de ASU se unen en apoyo a matrículas igualitarias para dreamers (04/07/2015)

Los dreamers de Arizona continúan presionando a la Junta de Regentes de Arizona para que les otorgue matrículas como residentes a los beneficiarios de DACA. El martes hubo una marcha en la Universidad Estatal de Arizona (ASU, por sus siglas en ingles) en Tempe y varias organizaciones estudiantiles se unieron a de los soñadores.

Research and Reports

New Jersey Policy Perspective: Tuition Equality Act is a Half-Measure Without Access to Financial Aid (04/08/2015)

UCLA-USC: How American Children Will Benefit From President Obama's Executive Action on Immigration (04/06/2015)

Center for American Progress: DACA Helps Undocumented Students Access Higher Education (04/07/2015)

Center for American Progress: Infographic: Inaction on Immigration Is Too Costly (04/09/2015)

#DACA #higher education #tuition equity #immigration #equity #undocumented #students #DREAM Act #dreamers #news

Week of March 26 to April 6, 2015

Please feel free to spread this to your networks and sign up for the listserv here. Visit our blog to see resources from previous weeks.

Events

Petition: Tell TX Legislators: Keep In-State Tuition

On Monday, April 6 the State Senate subcommittee on border security will have a hearing on SB 1819, a bill that if passed, will eliminate in-state tuition for undocumented students and thousands of immigrant youth like myself will be shut out of the college experience we’ve worked so hard in high school to be a part of. That’s why I’m going to the Texas State Capitol on Monday to demand the subcommittee support ALL students and keep in-state tuition. And I want to take your voice with me, unless you can join me in person!

National Institution Coming Out Day (04/07/2015)

To be an unafraid, student, educator and or ally means that we consistently advocate for our right to education through leadership and advocacy. Join United We Dream’s Dream Educational Empowerment Program on April 7, 2015 for National Institutions Coming Out Day (NICOD)! On NICOD we will uplift the schools/organizations who are working with and for undocumented students and those who want to begin.

Repeal of Texas in-state tuition law finally takes center stage (04/06/2015)

After a week's delay, state senators are set to begin considering a contentious plan to repeal a Texas law granting in-state public university tuition to the children of some people in the United States illegally.

National & State News

USA Today: 100,000 'dreamers' could lose 3-year work permits (04/05/2015)

Reynoso is one of more than 100,000 so-called "dreamers" who received three-year work permits under Obama's executive actions on immigration before U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Hanen issued a preliminary injunction temporarily halting the programs in February. Now Reynoso and the other dreamers are caught a bitter legal dispute over whether the Justice Department intentionally misled the judge by failing to disclose that the government had already started issuing three-year permits to some dreamers.

USA Today: Undocumented students advocate Illinois bill granting financial aid (04/04/2015)

Undocumented student groups from both public and private universities across the state of Illinois have collectively joined efforts to push for HB 3528 — a bill that would allow Illinois student residents, who meet the requirements, access to student aid and benefits funded by the State.

TWC News [North Carolina]: NC Senate Bill Could Give Undocumented Students In-State Tuition (04/03/2015)

Undocumented high school students in North Carolina could soon have more options for college. A bill recently introduced by Republican NC Sen. Fletcher Hartsell Jr. proposes giving undocumented immigrants in-state tuition.

University of Arkansas: Newly DACA-mented Arkansas Students Discuss Higher Education Challenges (04/03/2015)

These students no longer face deportation and are allowed to work legally, but they still face challenges – particularly when it comes to equal access to higher education. In Arkansas they are all required to pay out-of-state tuition, even when they live in Arkansas and graduated from Arkansas schools.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Emory to offer financial aid to undocumented students (04/02/2015)

Emory University plans to provide financial aid beginning in the fall for certain immigrant students without legal status. The need-based aid would apply to immigrants qualifying for the Obama administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which grants temporary deportation deferrals and work permits to immigrants who were illegally brought to the country as children.

News Works: U.S. citizens miss out when universities assist undocumented students (04/02/2015)

Let's not mince words. First, financial aid is a zero-sum game. Every dollar that a college gives to a student who entered the country illegally is a dollar that is not awarded to a U.S. citizen. Second, time is a finite resource. Every hour a college spends seeking funds for student who entered the country illegally is an hour not spent seeking funds for U.S. citizens — whose parents pay taxes, and who, more than likely, are competing for that same finite pool of financial aid.

Education News: Undocumented Immigrants Hoping to Boost Higher Ed Access (04/02/15)

Earlier this year, President Barack Obama unveiled the “America’s College Promise” proposal that offers two years of community college education free for anyone willing to work for it. More recently, he announced a new “Student Aid Bill of Rights” that would ensure all students have access to high-quality and affordable educations. A number of undocumented students, as well as parents and policymakers, are asking for more access to affordable and high-quality education. Obama’s proposals have made it clear that education is important for everyone in the country, including undocumented immigrants.

New York Times: Students end week-long hunger strike for Dream Act (04/02/2015)

Over the last week, approximately 50 students from the City University of New York and their supporters held a hunger strike to protest Governor Andrew Cuomo’s decision to drop the Dream Act from the state budget. On March 24, Cuomo issued a statement in Albany saying that, despite his support for it, the Dream Act would be left out of the budget, a move that signals yet another setback for advocates of the act, which allows undocumented immigrants, specifically high school graduates, to apply for state financial aid for college.

Indiana Public Media: Two Indiana Colleges Create Scholarships For Undocumented Students (04/01/2015)

Holy Cross is partnering with the Noble Network of Charter Schools out of Chicago to expand its efforts to enroll students like Constantino. The partnership will allow both Holy Cross and Wabash College to enroll three undocumented students from Chicago at their institutions, providing the students with almost a full ride.

The Tennessean: Immigrant advocates tout tuition bill's progress (04/01/2015)

A bill that could make college more affordable for some of Tennessee's undocumented students is making slow but steady progress in the General Assembly, and advocates say support is growing. The legislation, which would allow some undocumented high school students to pay in-state tuition at a public college in Tennessee, has won approval from committees in the Senate and the House since it was introduced in February. Along the way, Democrats and Republicans have signed on to co-sponsor the bill.

National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators: Undocumented Students Deserve Greater Access To Higher Education (04/01/2015)

In the weeks following the president’s announcement—and further acknowledgement in his State of the Union address—the Center for American Progress announced the beginning stages of its College for All proposal. The plan, which is still in development, builds on some of the same themes as the president’s plan—including the assertion that everyone, regardless of income, should have access to postsecondary education. ... While details are still forthcoming, CAP believes that the central tenets of College for All should apply to all students without restriction, including undocumented students who have grown up in the United States.

Huffington Post: Denying Higher Education to Undocumented Students is a Roadblock to Future Economic Growth (03/31/2015)

While the president's proposals are significant strides in making a college education attainable to more students, there are still millions of undocumented students who face a complex set of policies that too often prevent them from accessing and completing a postsecondary education.

KFOX [Texas]: Undocumented students could pay out-of-state tuition costs if Senate Bill 1819 passes (03/29/2015)

On April 6 the border security subcommittee of the Senate's Veteran Affairs and Military Installations Committee is scheduled to hear Senate Bill 1819, a piece of legislation that would repeal a 2001 law that allows undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition at Texas colleges and universities. House Bill 1403, also known as the Texas Dream Act, passed in 2001 to extend in-state tuition and grant eligibility to non-citizen residents of the state.

University of California San Francisco: New Reality of California ‘DREAMers’ Takes Shape at UCSF (03/26/2015)

José Carrasco Sandoval, Laura Aguilar and Angie Celis typify the caliber of talent UC San Francisco attracts. These California residents are standout students who want to give back to their communities after they graduate. All three have been chosen to join the School of Dentistry’s Class of 2019. Unlike most of their peers, all three are “DREAMers,” a term used to describe undocumented immigrants under the age of 31 who entered the United States before the age of 16 and have lived continuously in the country for at least five years while staying out of legal trouble. Those who meet these criteria outlined by the federal Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act are often referred to as “DREAMers.”

Fox News Latino: Undocumented students deserve greater access to higher education (03/31/2015)

Higher education is central to achieving individual economic success and to supporting the national economy. It not only offers the most dependable path to achieving social mobility, but it also allows the United States to remain competitive in the global economy. For the thousands of undocumented young people who graduate from American high schools each year, the path to a college degree or a postsecondary credential is overshadowed by the complex state, federal, and institutional policies that determine available education options. Approximately 80,000 undocumented youth who have lived in the country for at least five years turn 18 every year, and about 65,000 of them cross the stage to graduate high school. These undocumented students are not eligible for federal financial aid, and many states do not allow them to pay in-state tuition rates.

Yahoo News: America to Undocumented Teens: Forget That Dream of Going to College (03/31/2015)

Because of a labyrinthian system of federal and state rules, restrictions, and conflicting information, only about 6,500 undocumented immigrants who graduate from high school move on to college, according to twin studies from the Center for American Progress, a Washington public-policy think tank, and UCLA’s Institute for Immigration, Globalization and Education.

Diverse Education: Panel: Undocumented Students Still Stressed Out (03/31/15)

A groundbreaking survey of undocumented students released Tuesday at the Center for American Progress. No college or university should assume they don’t have undocumented students.

#DACA #undocumented #immigration #tuition equity #higher education

Week of March 17 to March 25, 2015

Please feel free to spread this to your networks and sign up for the listserv here. Visit our blog to see resources from previous weeks.

Events

Center for American Progress: Inside the Labyrinth: Undocumented Students in Higher Education (03/31/2015)

A distinguished panel will discuss the findings of a new report from the Institute for Immigration, Globalization, and Education, "In the Shadows of the Ivory Tower: Undocumented Undergraduates and the Liminal State of Immigration Reform," focused on the experiences of undocumented students who are navigating the stressful landscape of current immigration laws, uneven state and university policies, and few campus resources. The panel will present lessons learned from the experiences of students and a potential path forward amidst an uncertain political climate.

Opening Remarks:

· Felicia Escobar, Special Assistant to the President for Immigration Policy

Moderator:

· Zenén Jaimes Pérez, Senior Policy Analyst, Generation Progress

Panel:

· Dr. Daniel Porterfield, President, Franklin & Marshall College

· Laura Bohórquez, Coordinator, Dream Education Empowerment Program at United We Dream

· Dr. Robert Teranishi, Co-Director, Institute for Immigration, Globalization, and Education at the University of California, Los Angeles

· Catalina Adorno, Student and Organizer at New Jersey Youth for Immigrant Liberation

United We Dream: Tell us about your commitment to undocumented students!

We’re just two weeks away from National Institutions Coming Out Day (NICOD) on April 7, 2015! We noticed that you downloaded our toolkit and we want to know what you’re doing at your school and/or in your community to better support, work with, and for undocumented students.

Fill out this pledge to tell us what you are committed to doing at your school with and for undocumented students.

National & State News

Daily News [NY]: New York college students vow hunger strike until state tuition aid is extended to undocumented immigrants (03/25/2015)

Their last meal was pizza and soda at midnight — and dozens of hunger-striking college students vowed Wednesday not to eat again until lawmakers include a measure extending state tuition aid to undocumented immigrants in New York’s budget. “We’re not going to eat, we’re not even chewing gum, we’re drinking water and that's it — plain water until we see the DREAM Act included in the budget,” said College of Staten Island student Monica Sibri, 22, who organized the hunger strike. “We're willing to sacrifice,” she said.

New Haven Register [CT]: Connecticut’s undocumented students win committee’s support for financial aid (03/25/2015)

They won the right to pay in-state tuition in 2011 and on Tuesday Connecticut’s undocumented students got one step closer to accessing $100 million in financial aid. The Higher Education and Employment Committee forwarded Senate President Martin Looney’s bill to give Connecticut’s “Dreamers” access to financial aid to the Senate. This year the bill seems to have widespread support, even among some Republican lawmakers.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Missouri lawmakers seek to ban college aid to undocumented students (03/25/2015)

Missouri’s fight over undocumented students stretches back to last year when current House Budget Committee Vice Chairman Scott Fitzpatrick, R-Shell Knob, successfully included language in the state’s higher education budget barring public colleges and universities from offering in-state tuition to “unlawfully present” students. His reasoning: Students who are in the country illegally should not receive better tuition rates than legal residents. This year, legislators are trying to go further. One measure that recently passed the House is a Fitzpatrick-sponsored bill that would require colleges and universities to charge undocumented students the same tuition charged to international students — generally much higher than in-state tuition rates.

The CT Mirror: GOP lawmakers: Open $100 million financial aid pot to undocumented students (03/24/2015)

Most Republican legislators on the Higher Education Committee voted Tuesday in favor of opening a $100 million pot of college financial aid to undocumented immigrants. The vote may signal a change of heart among legislative Republicans about providing financial help to undocumented students. When state lawmakers changed state law in 2011 to allow undocumented students who went to high school in Connecticut to pay in-state tuition, not a single Republican legislator voted in support.

Springfield News-Leader [MO]: Proposal to bar aid to undocumented immigrant students, raised in Mo., hurts workforce (03/24/2015)

A group of Missouri legislators is continuing a determined effort to bar undocumented immigrant students from making Missouri a better place by limiting their access to higher education. This is the second year in a row — and it probably won't be the last —in which some Republican lawmakers have targeted students who graduate from high school in Missouri, but who aren't here legally because they were brought here as small children, from being eligible for state aid or favorable tuition at state colleges or universities.

Missourian: Lawmakers want to punish students by withholding funds (03/24/2015)

These young people have done nothing wrong, and yet some Missouri lawmakers want to punish them. The students’ biggest crime is that they were born elsewhere and brought here as youngsters. Many of them are living legally in Missouri as so-called DREAMers, students whose deportation is deferred because they meet specific criteria, such as having lived in the United States since before they were 16.

[Trigger Warning: hate language]

Washington Times: 2 Indiana colleges, network partner undocumented students (03/24/2015)

Two Indiana colleges are among 14 that will partner with a charter school network to provide students who are illegal immigrants with easier access to higher education.The Noble Network of Charter Schools says Holy Cross College in South Bend, Wabash College in Crawfordsville and 12 other schools will provide those students in a scholarship program with enough financial aid for them to avoid direct payments to the schools.

WABE Atlanta NPR: Georgia's Undocumented Students Seek In-State Tuition Rate (03/24/2015)

Some Georgia high school graduates have been accepted to state colleges, but the Georgia Board of Regents makes them pay out-of-state tuition in order to attend. These are students ─ who were brought to the United States when they were younger, typically by their parents ─ without the required legal documents. In 2013, the Obama administration created the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. It grants eligible, undocumented applicants two years permission to stay in the United States, and, according to the Brookings Institution, over 8,500 of Georgia’s young people now have “DACA” status.

Gotham Gazette: New York Colleges Need the DREAM Act (03/24/2015)

All of New York State's colleges and universities would benefit from the passing of the DREAM Act. Its passage would open up the state's Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) to DREAMers who meet TAP's eligibility criteria. We would also be better able to achieve our goal of educating all New Yorkers and putting them on the path to high-skilled employment.

New York Times: Cuomo Drops Dream Act and Education Tax Credit from Budget (03/24/2015)

After Republican and Democratic leaders could not agree on a proposal that linked immigration reform with an education tax credit in Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s proposed budget, the governor said on Tuesday that both would be dropped as negotiations continued. His statement and the impasse in Albany signaled yet another dead end for the Dream Act, the measure that would allow high school graduates who are undocumented immigrants to apply for state financial aid for college.

The Seattle Times: Federal bill would help Washington and other states that provide aid to Dreamers (03/23/2015)

The bill would establish the American Dream Grant program with $750 million in funding. That money would go to states that offer in-state tuition and state financial aid to so-called “Dreamers” — students born outside the U.S. who have spent most of their lives here, and want to attend college in the U.S.

High Plans Public Radio [KS]: Effort to Eliminate In-State Tuition for Undocumented Kansas Students Falters (03/22/2015)

There's a push to repeal a program that allows more than 600 undocumented students to pay in-state tuition at Kansas colleges and universities, but a bill aimed at doing that faltered in a House panel. The bill failed to make it out of the House Education Committee after a debate Thursday. Currently, some students who are in the country illegally, but have lived in Kansas and attended Kansas schools, are eligible for in-state tuition. The bill in its original form would take that away. At times, the meeting grew heated. Here’s Democratic Representative Valdenia Winn and Republican Representative John Barker.

Signal Tribune [CA]: CSULB opens center to provide resources and ‘safe, neutral’ space for undocumented students (03/20/2015)

Students and faculty gathered during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on March 9 to celebrate the opening of CSULB’s Dream Success Center, located in Room 309 of the University Student Union (USU). The center provides computers, Internet access and printing services along with career guidance and financial-aid assistance to undocumented students on campus. According to university officials, the center at CSULB is the fourth such resource center to open in the California State University (CSU) system’s 23 campuses, following Cal State Northridge, Cal State Fullerton and Cal State Los Angeles.

The Rampage Online [CA]: Proposed Bill Offers Dreamers Hope for Support Services (03/19/2015)

An effort to establish centers that would provide educational support services on all high school, university and community college campuses for undocumented students, or DREAMers, is underway in the California Senate. Ricardo Lara, state senator for district 33, introduced SB 247 on Feb. 18, and it is expected to be be voted on or after March 21. The bill requires a majority vote in order to succeed. If approved, SB 247 will authorize the governing board of each school district, county office of education, the community college districts and trustees of the California State Universities to establish on-campus “Dream Centers” to provide undocumented pupils and students with information about educational support services.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Immigrants without legal status seeking in-state tuition hit setback (03/19/2015)

The Georgia Court of Appeals on Thursday rejected an appeal aimed at making young immigrants who were granted a special reprieve from deportation eligible for in-state college tuition. In rejecting the appeal, the court upheld a Fulton County Superior Court’s ruling from June that says state law bars such lawsuits through sovereign immunity. “We agree with the trial court that sovereign immunity bars this action,” the court said in its six-page ruling. “Our state constitution provides that, with certain exceptions not relevant to this case, sovereign immunity ‘extends to the state and all of its departments and agencies.’

Fox News Latino: Schools after the surge: Rush of undocumented students became fodder for immigration debate (03/19/2015)

In the wake of an increased enrollment of unaccompanied minors who traveled from Central America to the U.S., often to escape violence and reunite with family members, it is hard to get a clear picture of how schools have fared. Part of the reason is that each district differs demographically, politically and financially. But another part is that the issue is so politically volatile that it varies on whom you ask.

[Trigger Warning: hate language]

Campus Reform: 'Dream Home' to open for illegal immigrant students in Texas (03/18/2015)

Free housing will soon be available for DREAMers—illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. as children—attending the University of Texas-Pan American (UTPA). The Dream Homes initiative, the latest project by nonprofit organization Sand2Pearl, will provide rent-free housing to undocumented UTPA students in South Texas. The home, located within walking distance to UTPA’s campus, will open in August and house seven undocumented students during the 2015-2016 academic year.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Immigration-related bills hit the wall in Georgia Legislature (03/16/2015)

Georgia lawmakers have shown little appetite this year for controversial measures aimed at immigrants without legal status, deciding against advancing one that would block them from getting state driver’s licenses and another that would make them eligible for in-state college tuition. This marks a substantial change from four years ago, when the Georgia Legislature approved a sweeping law aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration. That Arizona-style law prompted lengthy court battles and complaints of severe labor shortages and economic losses in the state’s huge farming industry.

Other

LA Weekly: Los Dreamers Tell the Stories of Undocumented Students through Music (03/24/2015)

Occasionally a song will wander into highly personal territory — the dreamy guitar-ballad “Alejandra” tells the story of Alejandra Cardona, a Denver student shot in the Aurora Theater massacre and granted a U-Visa for being injured by an American citizen. But mostly the songs all sport similar refrains, tracing wanderers and loners, outsiders and friends, across the American Southwest.

#DACA #higher education #students #tuition equity #undocumented #education

Week of March 10 to March 16, 2015

Please feel free to spread this to your networks and sign up for the listserv here. Visit our blog to see resources from previous weeks.

National & State News

The Economist: College or bust (03/14/2015)

Having papers can make a big difference to students’ prospects of getting a good education. Public universities typically offer subsidised “in-state” tuition to legal local residents. Rules vary, but at least 18 states offer in-state tuition rates to students regardless of immigration status: it is a crucial marker of whether states are grappling with their future competitiveness. Tennessee, a conservative spot, does not currently offer in-state tuition to all. Shuler Pelham, Overton’s principal, says that 15- or 16-year-old Latinos tell him they are quitting school to work with fathers or uncles, earning $10 an hour in the building trade. When he urges them to consider their future, “they say, ‘what for? I’m undocumented. I can’t go to college’.”

Yuma News Now [Arizona]: Attorney General Brnovich Letter on In-State Tuition for Undocumented Students (03/14/2015)

As the Attorney General I have taken an oath to uphold and enforce the law and to defend the Constitutions of Arizona and of the United States. Here, the people of Arizona have spoken unambiguously and their elected and appointed representatives, including the community colleges and my office, are bound to follow.

Gotham Gazette: Separating Fact from Fiction on the [New York] DREAM Act (03/13/2015)

The gridlocked Congress' failure to produce needed, overdue immigration reform prompted several states to create their own versions of the proposed federal DREAM Act, which would provide publicly financed college tuition aid to undocumented immigrants. Texas, a red state; California, a blue state; and New Mexico, a purple state; each has adopted its own version of the DREAM Act. In New York, the DREAM Act enjoys the support of editorial boards as varied in their opinions, politics, and geographical concerns as Newsday, the New York Post, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, the New York Times, the Albany Times Union, and the New York Daily News.

Latin Post: DREAM Act Funding in NY State Budget Could Grant Immigrant Students College Education (03/13/2015)

Controversy has surrounded the DREAM Act's passage, with advocates and opposing Republicans alike not happy with New York State Gov. Andrew Cuomo linking the act in the same bill as a proposed education investment tax credit. While DREAM Act supporters feel that linking the Act should be voted on by itself instead of being served up as a potential "poison pill" in legislation, Republicans adamantly oppose the idea of using state funding towards undocumented immigrants.

Queens Chronicle [New York]: Queens officials join DREAM Twitter push (03/12/2015)

Using a T-shirt last week to urge support for the DREAM Act in the state Senate, state Sen. Jose Peralta (D-Jackson Heights) is now embracing 21st century tech. Starting Tuesday, Peralta took a photo with a sign reading “#PassTheDREAMAct” and, in an effort to ensure more senators vote to approve the bill this year, urged his colleagues to do the same.

The Daily Californian: State Senate, Assembly bills propose establishment of Dream Resource Centers (03/12/2015)

A state Assembly member and a state senator each proposed bills in February to establish Dream Resource Centers at public K-12 schools and state colleges to support undocumented students in California. AB 1366, proposed by Assemblymember Patty Lopez, would mandate community colleges and the California State University to establish Dream Resource Centers on each campus to provide undocumented students with information about financial aid and educational support services. SB 247, proposed by Sen. Ricardo Lara, D – Bell Gardens, would authorize the establishment of these centers at both the college level and in K-12 school districts.

CL ATL [Georgia]: Closed college doors for DACA students, Why does Georgia force young immigrants to look elsewhere when chasing the American Dream? (03/12/2015)

A bill currently pending in the Georgia legislature, Senate Bill 44, introduced by state Sen. Nan Orrock, D-Atlanta, would allow immigrant students with work authorization like Diana to qualify for in-state tuition rates at public institutions of higher education. These students grew up in Georgia, graduated from Georgia high schools, and persevered against the odds to excel. SB 44 would ensure that they could have access to the educational opportunities that they have already earned through their hard work, right at home. At its core, this legislation is about fairness. SB 44 would level the playing field and open the doors of opportunity to students like Diana. Today, these students have to pay out-of-state tuition at the state's colleges and universities, even if they graduated from a Georgia high school. Students who attend college at out-of-state rates are forced to pay several thousand dollars more — in some cases nearly twice as much — as those who attend under the in-state rate.

AZ Central: Arizona Board of Regents split over education budget (03/11/2015)

The board also heard public comments that largely focused on the issue of providing in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants, or "Dreamers." Non-U.S. citizens must pay a higher out-of-state tuition and are not permitted to receive financial aid funding or subsidizes by state monies. Several speakers addressed the board while a group of students stood with posters that read: "Invest in us. Fund the Future."

NBC News: South TX Nonprofit To Offer Free Student Housing For DREAMers (03/10/2015)

A new nonprofit organization has developed an initiative offering free student housing for DREAMers - undocumented students brought to the U.S. as children. The Dream Homes initiative is one of Sand2Pearl's social justice projects dedicated to improve economic and educational conditions as well the well-being of individuals who face social, political and economic barriers in the region known as the Rio Grande Valley (RGV).

Press-Telegram [California]: Cal State Long Beach opens DREAM center for undocumented students (03/09/2015)

The center, which cost about $16,000 for construction, furniture, telecom and office supplies, is the fourth of its kind in the 23-campus California State University system, joining similar places at Cal State Northridge, Cal State Fullerton and Cal State Los Angeles. CSU educates an estimated 6,400 undocumented students, including roughly 650 in attendance at CSULB. The student government at CSULB, known as Associated Students, Inc., passed a resolution in March 2014 to support the creation of a resource center for undocumented students.

The Tennessean: Tuition equality aligns with Tennessee’s values, goals (03/09/2015)

Cesar is one of an estimated 25,000 undocumented students in Tennessee who must pay out-of-state rates to attend college, no matter how long they’ve lived in Tennessee. Our schools invest in undocumented students from kindergarten through high school, but our current tuition policies put college out of reach for most. Students feel discouraged when they realize their options for college are limited and sometimes lose hope. In states with inequitable tuition rates like ours, high school dropout rates for undocumented students are as high as 50 percent.

Research and Reports

Center for American Progress: States Must Expand Higher-Education Opportunities for Undocumented Students (03/13/2015)

As the national debate over the president’s plan to expand deferred action for close to 5 million people plays out in the courts, state legislators are proposing legislation regarding undocumented immigrants’ access to higher education. Since the beginning of the year, at least 12 states have introduced legislation on their tuition-equity policies, which determine access to public colleges and universities for undocumented students. More bills are anticipated in other states.

Migration Policy Institute: A Profile of Immigrants in Houston, the Nation's Most Diverse Metropolitan Area (03/2015)

Houston is the most diverse, rapidly growing major U.S. metropolitan area, and immigration has contributed greatly to its growth and diversity. In 2013 the Houston metro area was home to 6.3 million people, of whom 1.4 million were foreign born—an increase of nearly 60 percent from 2000, which is almost twice the national growth rate. Its immigrant population ranked fifth largest among U.S. metropolitan areas and third in the numbers of Mexican, Vietnamese, and Honduran immigrants. By the time of the 2010 Census, Houston's population did not have a majority racial or ethnic group: non-Hispanic whites represented 40 percent of the total population, Latinos 36 percent, Blacks 17 percent, and Asians 6 percent.

Other

Fusion: Important reminder: Superman was an undocumented immigrant (03/15/2015)

Erick Huerta is an immigrant rights advocate and blogger. He’s a DREAMer: an undocumented youth, raised in America, lobbying for educational and citizenship rights in this country. To explain his experiences, Huerta references Superman, who was “from another planet… and grew up in the United States, just like me.” He continued, “His origins mirror those of anyone forced to relocate from their home country to another because of outside factors.”

Washington Post: Why pro-immigration states are fighting back (03/12/2015)

Bob Ferguson is attorney general of Washington.

A federal judge recently halted President Obama’s executive action that would make millions of immigrants eligible to live and work legally in the United States, accepting the argument of Texas and other states that reforms will impose a fiscal burden on them. I disagree. Bringing undocumented workers out of the shadows is not only humane, it’s also good for the economy, and I’m leading a coalition of 14 states and the District that filed a brief Thursday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit explaining why.

Fusion: Inside the mind of an undocumented kid (03/11/2015)

Melissa Garcia Velez hadn’t really considered her immigration status until she started looking at colleges. Her high school counselor told her she wouldn’t be eligible for financial aid unless she could prove she was in the country lawfully. This was traumatic news for the now 22-year-old New Yorker. “At that point, I thought of quitting and simply saying, I’m just going to go back to Colombia and start from scratch,” she said. “I didn’t think I was worth it. There were a lot of feelings of I don’t deserve to be here.”

#immigration #DACA #higher education #education #tuition equity #students #undocumented #news