UCLA Students Lobby for DREAM Act
It's a sensitive subject on all sides, and it's one of the many issues entangled in the ongoing immigration policy debate in the United States. It's the DREAM Act, and some UCLA students want the legislation passed.
Several UCLA students spent last Thursday and Friday lobbying for the passage of the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, the Daily Bruin reports. The act would allow undocumented college students to receive financial aid and move along the pathway toward citizenship.
Being one of the major universities closest to the epicenter of the immigration debate—the U.S.-Mexico border—UCLA is a hot spot for the ongoing discussion on how to handle the children of illegal immigrants.
"We've invested in these individuals from kindergarten to 12th grade, and it's important to keep that investment in our country," Allison Clark, a UCLA student and member of Bruin Lobby Corps, tells the Daily Bruin. "There's no difference between them and us. We really are all Americans, whether we're citizens or not. It's just the right thing to do."
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed the bill in 2007, the report says, citing California's financial problems. A few UCLA students met with the staff of California Rep. Brad Sherman on Friday to voice their opinion.
"Most officials who haven't supported the DREAM Act just don't know what it is," says UCLA student Sofia Campos, the daughter of illegal immigrants. That's exactly why the meetings were set up, the report says.
"We wanted to give people all the detailed information so that they were fully prepared for any questions and could make the best arguments possible; they can cover all the bases," the Bruin Lobby Corps's assistant external vice president for local affairs, Caitlin Lawrence-Toombs, tells the Daily Bruin.
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Tags: colleges | financial aid | immigration | UCLA
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COMMON SENSE
it's not ONLY AMERICAN KIDS PARENTS MONEY undocumenteD kids and their PARENTS MONEY. THEY ALSO WORK N PAY TAXES!! more people getting paid for HIGHER WAGES B/C OF CITIZENSHIP N EDUCATION will RAISE the tax money that the government takes awaY from EVERYONE'S PAYCHECK= MORE MONEY FOR GOVERNMENT =MORE MONEY FOR EVERONE!GEEZ COMMON SENSE HERE.plus anyone who at least goes to a community college will do good NOT GET PAD MINIMUM WAGE, BUT HIGHER WAGES
Support the DREAM ACT! Get well informed
Ok so the dream act helps undocumented students that have lived in the USA most of their lives become legal residents. It will help them receive a temporary residency, and apply for student loans and work study they could pursue a higher education. The Act will not make the students eligible for Pell educational grants. Passing this Act is the right thing to do. If you are well informed you would know the requirements are a high school diploma or ged, must have arrived before the age of 16, live at least five continuous years in the US, and have good moral character. The people who would benefit from this act are students who have succeed in high school, have already been educated most of there lives in the US, probably don't remember their nation of birth, and do not have a criminal history. So some people want to focus on the education of US citizens. Why do the kids drop out? One person said "The graduation rate in just one town - Fresno, is only 20%." These kids who dropped out are citizens and are not taking advantage of the educational system and do not want to learn. It was their decision to drop out. On the other hand we have hard working undocumented students who grew up here and strived in high school and we want to get rid of them? Why should the successful students who actually graduate not receive higher education? Why should they be deported? Would we benefit more from high school drop outs? So we want to stop the smart people from actually benefiting society and focus on those who refuse to learn and are not motivated? Does that even make sense? How would you feel if you were brought to the country as a child, have always worked hard, got good grades, and never broken the law, and all of a sudden you find-out your immigration papers which were filed through your parents were rejected and you have no way of staying in the country legally. Imagine the stress. What are they supposed to do? Go back to a country where they will be out of place? I believe these people deserve to stay in the country since they have proven they want to work and benefit society. The students will receive a temporary residency. A temporary residency cannot be used to bring family members. If the person goes to college they obviously want to succeed and are not going to be on welfare. I think I've made my point. So please SUPPORT THE DREAM ACT.
Try Helping the American kids first
This is really wrongheaded. The graduation rate in just one town - Fresno, is only 20%. In a time where the education budget is being cut billions of dollars and more american students are being failed by the current level of education, bringing it worldwide to at 17th, these 20-somethings want us to pass an amendment giving illegal aliens kids free tuition money? Ask yourself this question first, why do YOU hate American kids that much that you would take THEIR money (PAID FOR BY THEIR PARENTS) for THEIR education AS CITIZENS away so easily? Apparently so. My advice is to think on that a little before be so charitable with an American parent's money.
If you put this much effort into your own country, your own citizen peers, helping our kids with their smothering college loans, then we might have something to discuss.
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