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SACRAMENTO -- California lawmakers voted Wednesday to open the door to state-funded financial aid for immigrant college students who entered the United States illegally.

California lawmakers have opened the door to state-funded financial aid for immigrant college students who entered the United States illegally. . . . Assemblyman Gil Cedillo, a Los Angeles Democrat, has introduced similar legislation each year since 2005 only to see it vetoed by Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger

Sen. Althoff sets the record straight on “Illinois DREAM Act” bill. Recently, the Illinois Senate approved legislation (Senate Bill 2185) aimed at allowing student immigrants who have a valid taxpayer ID to invest in their college education – this legislation has been the subject of much misinformation on the Internet and in the media. The bill requires the Illinois Student Assistance Commission to create an Illinois DREAM Fund that will provide scholarships funded entirely from private contributions – no Illinois tax dollars will be directed toward these scholarships. In addition, to be eligible for the program, a student must be...

La Unidad Latina, Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity, Inc. puts La Raza above America The media is always on the hunt for ethnic chauvinism, racism, and cultural supremacism on a college campus, ready to pounce and run breathless exposes. Colleges and universities have speech codes, disciplinary bodies, and an entire apparatus of repression that have been built to make sure that no racist group can ever raise its ugly head in polite society again. Unless, of course, it’s for non-whites. Then it is celebrated and funded. Take the case of La Unidad Latina, Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity, Inc. (LUL). Now, if...

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The Obama administration is making it possible for more foreign students studying in the U.S. on visas to stay and get practical training in their career fields. The administration is expanding the list of science, technology, engineering and math degrees that allow foreign students who earn them to stay in the U.S. up to 17 months after graduating. Those months can be spent working. The time also could mean the student may not have to leave before getting an H-1B visa, a visa reserved for high-skilled workers that can last for up to six years.

In search of Hispanic votes and a long-shot immigration overhaul, President Barack Obama on Tuesday stood at the U.S.-Mexico border for the first time since winning the White House and declared it more secure than ever. He mocked Republican lawmakers for blocking immigration over border security alone, saying they won't be happy until they get a moat with alligators along the border. "They'll never be satisfied," he said. Stymied by both chambers of Congress, the president ditched lawmakers in favor of voters who might pressure them, making an appeal to the public on a hot and dusty day far outside...

Indianapolis— Five students arrested at an immigration protest at the Indiana Statehouse Monday will not face deportation. Federal authorities lifted detention orders against the illegal immigrants Tuesday evening. The detention was lifted shortly after the five declared a hunger strike Tuesday. The students say the hunger strike will last until Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels (R) vetoes the immigration bill he has previously promised to sign. The students were part of a protest that went all the way to the front door of the governor's office. Senate Bill 590 would make illegal immigrants pay much higher tuitions. The cost would be...

Barack Obama says his administration has answered the concerns of Republican lawmakers who want the U.S.-Mexico border better secured before they are willing to take on comprehensive immigration reform. Standing at the border Tuesday, Obama mocked Republicans for never being satisfied and always changing the conditions about what’s needed to secure the border. Said the president: "Maybe they’ll say we need a moat. Or alligators in the moat."

Dozens of illegal immigrants celebrated in Annapolis Tuesday as Maryland officially made them eligible for tuition discounts at colleges and universities — an issue that ignited impassioned opposition during the legislative session and is already subject to a repeal effort. Gov. Martin O'Malley made good on a long-standing promise to sign the controversial measure that extended in-state tuition rates, making Maryland the 11th state to grant such rights to undocumented residents. His action came the same day that President Barack Obama said he will renew a push for federal legislation that clears a citizenship path for illegal immigrants. "This will...

President Obama plans to unveil a “blueprint” on Tuesday of what he wants Congress to include in a comprehensive immigration reform bill, according to senior administration officials. Obama is scheduled to visit El Paso, Texas, with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano as part of the White House’s increased efforts to return immigration reform to the national spotlight. A senior administration official told reporters in a conference call Monday evening that Obama’s renewed push for an immigration bill was not merely a political move attempting to paint Congress as the inhibitor and the White House as the doer in the eyes...

President Obama is pledging border security and pleading for help from Republicans as he steps up his campaign to pass an immigration reform bill, but new polling suggests the rift within his own party is actually deeper than within the GOP on the issue. The data from the Pew Center for the People and the Press’ massive look at political parties, released last week, found that the gap between the ends of the Democratic coalition on favoring stricter enforcement and on legalization is twice as large as the gap between hard-line Republicans and their more libertarian-leaning cohorts. Mr. Obama will...

Jessica Colotl, in many ways, is exactly the kind of person we wish we had more of in this country. She's bright, ambitious, a good student and interested in civic affairs. "I am no different than any other American," she told the Atlanta newspaper this week. Maybe not, except for one little thing: Ms. Colotl has spent most of her life in this country illegally, and arrogantly thinks the laws that apply to everyone else - and especially those that apply to foreign nationals who want to become citizens of this country - shouldn't apply to her. Ms. Colotl, you'll...

EL PASO, Texas -- The White House confirmed Friday that President Barack Obama will deliver a speech on immigration reform when he visits El Paso on Tuesday. El Paso Mayor John Cook told KFOX-14 that the president will likely give the speech at Chamizal National Park, though he said the White House has not made the final decision about location. Immigration reform was a campaign promise Obama made as early as 2008. "Unfortunately, I know myself, people from the National League of Cities, Municipal League, the Texas Border Coalition have all been somewhat disappointed that the federal government has not...

California’s State Assembly on Thursday approved legislation to let undocumented students apply for college scholarships. But only Democrats voted for the bill. Assembly Republicans say it makes no sense to offer financial aid to students who have no legal right to live and work in California. Under the California Dream Act, only students who’ve attended a California high school for at least three years may apply for college scholarships — but only for those that private donors underwrite. Assemblyman Gil Cedillo of Los Angeles said these students deserve at least that much. “These young men and women were brought here...

U.S. immigration officials have decided that an undocumented college student apprehended by authorities after driving without a license can stay in the United States for another year, the student said. Reached by phone as she rushed to class Tuesday evening, Kennesaw State University student Jessica Colotl said the decision was "like a big present."

Keeping the Dream Alive: President Obama's Work with the African American CommunityPosted by Michael Blake on April 08, 2011 at 10:30 AM EDT On Wednesday, April 6th, the National Action Network kicked off its 20th anniversary convention, celebrating "20 years of struggle, 20 years of progress, 20 years of shaping history." During the day, four Cabinet members--Education Secretary Duncan, Attorney General Holder, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan--spoke to convention attendees about how the Obama Administration has been working with the African American community. That night, President Obama spoke at the Keepers of the Dream Awards Gala....

The chancellor of UC Berkeley is drawing criticism for sending a campuswide e-mail that linked a Tucson shooting rampage with Arizona's crackdown on illegal immigrants and the failure of the DREAM Act. In the e-mail, sent Monday, Chancellor Robert J. Birgeneau condemned a "climate in which demonization of others goes unchallenged and hateful speech is tolerated." He continued, postulating on factors that may have motivated Jared Lee Loughner, the alleged gunman in Saturday's shootings, .. : "I believe that it is not a coincidence that this calamity has occurred in a state which has legislated discrimination against undocumented persons." ......

Although the U. S. Senate voted down the federal government’s latest attempt to expand government entitlements, academics remain just as adamantly for it. On December 18, 2010, as we reported, the U. S. Senate voted down the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act. Last week, the radical caucus of the Modern Language Association (MLA) voted for it, as our correspondent on the scene at their Los Angeles confab—Allie Duzett—discovered. “Whereas the U. S. Senate voted down the ‘Dream Act,’ which would have granted undocumented students in high schools legal status by attending college, thus depriving them of...

While the DREAM Act failed on a national stage, California State Democrats would like to skirt federal law and provide a pathway to citizenship for those who are illegally residing in the Golden State. State Assembly Bill 78, written by Tony Mendoza (D-Arcadia) seeks to put an advisory measure on the state ballot asking California voters if they think the United States is responsible to grant amnesty to longtime illegal aliens currently living unlawfully inside America. The Democrat’s proposed “pathway to citizenship bill” would give illegal aliens who have worked in the U.S. for five years, have no felony convictions,...