California DREAM Act is for Education — NOT for a Green Card

On 9 October 2011, Governor Jerry Brown of California signed the California Dream Act. This bill permits undocumented immigrants to attend California public university and community colleges, providing them access to state financial aid. Only three states in the USA permit undocumented immigrants to qualify for state financial aid for college: California, New Mexico, and Texas.

To qualify, students must graduate from a California high school, after having attended school in California for a minimum of three years. The student must also sign a declaration that they are in the process of adjusting or legalizing his/her immigration situation. It is not yet known what exactly students will be attesting to when they say they are “in the process” of legalizing.

Immigrants should be very clear: the California DREAM Act is for undocumented immigrant students wishing to go to university in this state. The California DREAM Act does NOT provide legal immigration status, does NOT make the student immune from removal or deportation, does NOT permit the student to work in the absence of an Employment Authorization Document from the US immigration authorities, and does NOT permit the student to travel out of the USA and to return.

The California DREAM Act does not address the need for comprehensive immigration reform on the Federal level.i
To be sure, the DREAM Act is a practical, realistic way to address the unarguable fact that so many undocumented immigrants now reside in California, and it is not possible to remove them all. If these students get an education, it is a long-term benefit to California. –jcf