::In the midst of the latest Congressional push for immigration reform, the debate over illegal immigration is becoming more heated than ever before. This is the first of a three-part series on illegal immigration in Arizona and its effects on the state, the economy and the University.::
Every year, roughly 65,000 undocumented immigrants graduate from high school in the U.S., according to the nonpartisan Pew Hispanic Center.
They are ineligible to receive federal student aid, an obstacle that keeps many of them from attending college.
For the past eight years, proponents of the DREAM Act — The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act — have been fighting to end that policy. Advocates for the DREAM Act say current law alienates a huge portion of the population that, if legally allowed to work, could contribute more than unskilled labor to the economy.
The proposed legislation would allow undocumented students who came to the U.S. as minors to receive federal student aid and provide a path to legal status if they fulfill certain requirements, including a clean criminal record and being “of good moral character.”
Daniel Rodriguez, the political adviser for Arizona DREAM Act Coalition, said the current system is wasting millions of dollars of taxpayer money on primary and secondary education for illegal immigrant students — court precedents have established their right to attend public schools — without allowing them to fully contribute to the workforce.
Essentially, he said, it is creating an underclass of disenfranchised students with nowhere to go.
“It’s like we’re making an investment we refuse to cash out on,” Rodriguez said. “We need to allow [undocumented students] to pursue their education, or we won’t see the fruit of our investments.”
The opposition
Supporters of the legislation are opposed by those who see the DREAM Act as a loophole that will allow illegal immigrants to flood the country and make higher education even less accessible for working-class American citizens.
“Allowing children of parents who are here illegally to obtain in-state tuition would have the effect of incentivizing the breaking of our federal immigration laws,” said Bethany Haley, a spokeswomen for Rep.
Trent Franks, R-Ariz., in an e-mail. “This situation has already created a large burden on the American taxpayer in other states, … and in a time of economic recession, continuing to raise pressure on hard-working American families is not something [Franks] can support.”
State Rep. Steve Montenegro, R-Glendale, who also works in Franks’ office, said the act is unfair to those who go through the immigration process legally. He added that he would be in favor of providing undocumented students with a path to legal status if they go through the process of obtaining a visa.
“Where I have difficulty [with the DREAM Act] is granting the students automatic status because of the mistakes of their parents,” Montenegro said.
History of DREAM
The two sides have clashed since 2001, when Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., introduced legislation aimed at repealing sections of a law passed in 1996 that keeps undocumented students from receiving any state or financial assistance for higher education not offered to American citizens, including in-state tuition.
It has garnered bipartisan support each session, including co-sponsorship by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., in 2003, 2005 and 2007.
The legislation has failed each session, coming up eight votes short of the support needed to overcome a filibuster in 2007.
Rodriguez said key changes to the plan over the years, which exclude undocumented students with criminal records and add the option of military service as a path to legal status, have strengthened the movement. The election of President Barack Obama has given them hope for passing the legislation this session.
“We have a new administration that has committed itself to the DREAM Act,” Rodriguez said. “President Obama has said it’s a priority because it would help the economy.”
The bigger picture
But proponents of the DREAM Act also face a crucial decision. Many politicians, including Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., and Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., are pushing the DREAM Act as part of comprehensive immigration reform plans that would include guest worker programs and paths to legal status for illegal immigrants.
“Congressman Flake believes that the matter the DREAM seeks to remedy needs to be addressed in the context of more comprehensive immigration reform legislation,” said Matt Specht, a representative of Flake’s office in an e-mail.
Flake co-sponsored a comprehensive immigration reform bill called the STRIVE Act with Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., which would establish a temporary guest worker program while increasing resources for border security and increasing penalties for passport and visa fraud.
Supporters of Flake’s bill, including Grijalva, said the DREAM Act provisions only address one aspect of a much larger, more complex problem.
“We’re really selling ourselves short in only asking for certain provisions [rather] than demanding immigration reform,” said Bertha Guerrero, a spokeswoman for Grijalva’s office. “It’s important to address the multifaceted issue altogether.”
Though they are in favor of comprehensive immigration reform, members of DREAM Act Arizona said they are opposed to combining the two pieces of legislation because they fear the sweeping reforms of a guest worker program will garner less support than the Act by itself. Erica Andiola, a 2009 graduate of ASU’s psychology department who heads the DREAM Act coalition in Arizona, pointed to the failure of the 2007 immigration reform bill, which included the DREAM Act provisions, as evidence of this — the bill failed by a wider margin than the DREAM Act on its own.
“If it’s part of immigration reform, it’s a lot less likely to pass than by itself,” Andiola said. “More people are supportive of the DREAM Act than of the comprehensive immigration bill,” she said.
Rodriguez said the act is in danger of being shelved again if comprehensive reform is not passed, delaying relief to thousands of students.
“We don’t want the DREAM Act to die with comprehensive immigration reform,” he said.
Reach the reporter at derek.quizon@asu.edu.
