“An undocumented student lives in limbo”
Better: An illegal invader professional parasite lives back in Mexico.
Oh, and WTF is with the name: “Xochitlquetzal”?
We now have some half *ss winged serpent god living in Santa Cruz?
Is this some new ghetto trend, to name your anchor babies in ancient Aztec, just to totally rub it in the face of the Anglo taxpaters?
We now have some half *ss winged serpent god living in Santa Cruz?
As per wikipedia, Xochitlquetzal is a goddess associated with concepts of fertility, beauty, and female sexual power, serving as a protector of young mothers and a patroness of pregnancy, childbirth, and the crafts practised by women such as weaving and embroidery. I believe you're thinking of either Quetzalcoatl or Kukulkan.
On a side note, Kukulkan appeared in the Star Trek (animated) episode "How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth".
This has been your moment of Star Trek geekery for the day.
Federal and state DREAM Acts spark heated debate
By TOVIN LAPAN
01/23/2011
The DREAM Act has been making the rounds in Congress since 2001, most recently failing to win approval in December.
The California DREAM Act was first introduced in 2006, and has not fared much better, making it through the state Legislature three times before being vetoed each time by former Gov. Arnold Shwarzenegger.
The original sponsor of the state bill, Assemblyman Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, reintroduced a two-part version of the legislation earlier this month, and it is possible the federal bill will be brought back again this year. In both cases the debate is expected to be fierce.
The federal DREAM Act, or Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, would give children brought to the United States without a legal status a path to citizenship if they enlist in the military or attend a four-year college. It does not allow access to financial aid.
The Migration Policy Institute estimated that about 850,000 people could possibly meet all the criteria for eligibility, out of a total of about 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the country.
Even with the layers of restrictions that have been added, critics call the bill an “amnesty” for those who broke the law and a symbol of a dysfunctional immigration policy. They also say it is unfair to those immigrants who came legally, and are working toward citizenship.
“First of all, we should enforce our existing immigration laws before we start granting amnesty to
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people,” said Hans von Spakovsky, a senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank in Washington, D.C. “Also the maximum age of 16 is too high. Amnesty should be for people whose identity is formed here.”
While the California DREAM Act would not grant any legal status to undocumented immigrants, it would open access to state financial aid and grants. Gov. Jerry Brown previously has expressed his support for the bill.
If approved, California would be the third state to offer financial aid to undocumented students, after Texas and New Mexico.
Cedillo broke the bill into two pieces to counter critics who believe state funding should not be spent on undocumented students. One part only offers the students access to grants and aid administered by the colleges, and would not “cost the state a penny,” he said. The second part would allow the students to apply for Cal Grants, which pull from state coffers.
“Many chambers of commerce up and down the state support this,” Cedillo said. “They think of how these students will be the professionals of the future, the architects, doctors and nurses.”
One common misconception is that the bills would overwhelmingly benefit Latinos, but students from Asia and the Pacific Islands make up 40 percent of the U.S. undocumented student population, according to Asian Pacific Coalition at UCLA.
Currently, UC Board of Regents policy does not allow school officials to ask for private donations or participate in fundraising on behalf of undocumented students, something UC Santa Cruz Chancellor George Blumenthal says he would like to do.
“Does [the Federal DREAM Act] solve all of the problems? Of course not. But I’ll take every victory I can get. It will be a great boost to the morale of these students. It’s a sign that they have a future here,” Blumenthal said.
AT A GLANCE
DREAM ACT LEGISLATION
FEDERAL: The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act was first introduced in 2001, and the most recent version failed to pass Congress in December. With many stipulation built in, the legislation creates a pathway to citizenship for the children of undocumented immigrants. It specifies:
The child must have come to the country before turning 16, and cannot be older than 29 to be eligible.
The students are not eligible for in-state tuition, or access to federal financial aid and grants.
They must graduate from a U.S. high school or obtain a GED from a U.S. institution, and they must reside in the country for five or more years.
The applicant must also be of ‘good moral character,’ as determined by the Department of Homeland Security, which includes submitting to background checks, medical examinations and other stipulations.
If all those criteria are met, the immigrant receives a ‘conditional non-immigrant’ status.
After two years, and once the applicant has met the college or military requirements — two years at a four-year institution or two years in the military — they can earn legal immigrant status after further provisions are met.
The student’s ability to sponsor family members for U.S. citizenship is limited.
While they are under the conditional status, they will not be eligible for other federal aid, such as food stamps.
Only those in the country at the time of passage would be eligible to apply
CALIFORNIA: The state legislation has been proposed by Assemblyman Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, three times, passed through the state Legislature three times, and was vetoed by former Gov. Arnold Shwarzenegger three times. The current incarnation is split into two bills, AB 130 and AB 131. The first bill would allow students who meet the in-state tuition requirements to apply for and receive specified financial aid administered by California’s public colleges and universities. The types of aid these students would be eligible for include: Board of Governors Fee Waiver and Institutional Student Aid, a student aid program administered by the attending college or university. The second bill would allow students who meet the in-state tuition requirements to apply for and receive Cal Grants.
SOURCE: Library of Congress, thomas.loc.gov; Assemblyman Gil Cedillo’s office, http://asmdc.org/members/a45/