Posted on 07/31/2002 6:18:24 PM PDT by ijcr
Hatch was on O'Reilly tonight defending this bill.
Washington, D.C. - This week, the Senate Judiciary Committee, with a strong bipartisan vote, took a major step toward improving access to postsecondary educational opportunities for immigrant students in the United States by passing S. 1291, the "Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act" (DREAM Act). The National Council of La Raza (NCLR) commends Senators Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Richard Durbin (D-IL) for championing an issue of great importance to the Latino community.
The bill, sponsored by Senators Hatch and Durbin, will help mitigate two significant obstacles for talented immigrant students. First, the DREAM Act makes college more affordable by giving states the flexibility to offer in-state tuition rates to immigrant students, who currently face immense barriers in financing a college education.
Second, it allows some longtime resident immigrant youth, who have graduated from high school, the opportunity to adjust their status, improving the opportunities for many Latinos and enabling them to contribute fully to our society.
The DREAM Act is a critical piece of legislation for the Latino community. Each year, high schools across the country graduate a significant number of talented immigrant students, many of whom have grown up in the United States, attended the same elementary and secondary schools as their native-born peers, and excelled at the same academic requirements as their classmates. Like their U.S.-born peers, these students share the same dream of pursuing a higher education.
However, unlike their counterparts, they lack access to state and federal financial assistance and lower in-state tuition rates, making it virtually impossible for these students to afford a college education. In effect, they are denied the opportunity to share in the American dream. The DREAM Act is a reasonable response to these challenges.
While the DREAM Act would provide meaningful educational opportunities to the Latino community, its passage is also important to the nation as a whole. By boosting Latino college enrollment and retention rates by making college more affordable and enabling a greater number of young leaders of the Latino community to participate fully in our nation's workforce, the DREAM Act will help our nation's economy thrive.
Steering passage of the DREAM Act through the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senators Hatch and Durbin have recognized the untapped talent and potential that undocumented immigrant students bring to our nation. We urge their colleagues in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives to echo their bipartisan spirit and quickly approve this legislation in their respective chambers and send it to the President's desk.
I know an awful lot of American kids who work their way through college or whose parents sacrificed and saved for it. Now they have to pay for a free ride for these loafers who believe they're too good to work.
If I were an illegal alien, the tuition for my kids would be the same as if I lived in MO?
Pray tell me who will be footing the bill for the illegals kids besides me and every other taxpayer?
This stealing of taxpayers' dollars must be stopped now! Call, write or fax your local Representative to stop this in the House.
So now foreign nationals go for cheaper than kids from across state lines.
Imagine what colleges will look like once administrators start milking these policies to counteract illiteracy figures and declining enrollments.
Colleges are already multi-national corporations; all teachers are brought in from outside and hold the local population in contempt. This will only divide education from civic life more. But, there is a silver lining: people are realizing that a four-year diploma signifies nothing.
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