Immigrants' Lament: Have Degree, No Job

News article

By: Miriam Jordan

Date: April 28, 2005

Source: Jordan, Miriam. "Immigrants' Lament: Have Degree, No Job." College Journal, from the Wall Street Journal (April 28, 2005).

About the Author: Miriam Jordan is a staff reporter for the Wall Street Journal. The Wall Street Journal is an international daily newspaper based in New York.

INTRODUCTION

The state of Kansas has a law that allows students to pay in-state tuition if they have graduated from high schools in that state, regardless of immigration status. In 2004, the state was sued by a group of university students and their parents—they argued that the state law contradicted federal immigration laws and essentially that it was unfair for illegal residents to receive the benefit of in-state tuition. These students were out-of-state residents and thus were not beneficiaries of in-state tuition. The court dismissed the case on July 5, 2005, citing the plaintiff's lack of evidence of injury on which to base their claim. (Kansas state law K.S.A. 76-731a granted tuition rates, but did not deny anyone benefits).

If passed by the Congress, the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act would give states the ability to provide higher education benefits to the children of illegal immigrants. In addition, the DREAM Act would give these students the opportunity to obtain legal status.

In March 2006, the DREAM Act passed the Senate Judiciary Committee as an amendment to a larger immigration bill. Critics doubted this bill would be passed in 2006. Advocates of the DREAM Act contend that the bill is more about the future of young people rather than immigration policy. The children of illegal immigrants who have grown up in America are caught in the middle of the immigration dispute.

PRIMARY SOURCE

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SIGNIFICANCE

The American Dream Act (the DREAM Act was introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives under this new name) proposes a number of provisions for undocumented residents, including:

• Restoring state's rights to provide in-state tuition to undocumented residents;
• Allowing children of illegal immigrants to attain citizenship;
• Allowing these students to be considered for legal resident status on a conditional basis if they: entered the United States before age sixteen, lived in the United States for five years by the date the law is passed, demonstrate good moral character and no criminal record, have attained a high school diploma or GED in the United States;
• Allowing for this conditional status to be lifted after six years if the student has completed college or finished two years in good standing, or has served in the military for at least two years.

Opponents charge that this form of legislation violates the civil rights of students who are not given these benefits (in-state tuition rates, for instance). Several complaints were filed with the Department of Homeland Security against Texas and New York. However, advocates of the American Dream Act say that this legislation will provide many benefits to America in the long run. They assert that young people need a head start in life. They state the Dream Act will benefit society as a whole in several ways:

• By reducing high school drop-out rates—which cost taxpayers billions of dollars each year—by eliminating barriers and incentivizing students to achieve;
• With more high school and college graduates, the economy will be stimulated to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars;
• In addition to increased earnings and tax revenues, providing a way for young people to get jobs will help fill workplace vacancies;
• The act rewards character by granting provisions to individuals that choose to work hard and contribute to the community in which they have grown up.

FURTHER RESOURCES

Books

Daniels, Roger. Guarding the Golden Door: American Immigration Policy and Immigrants since 1882. New York: Hill and Wang, 2004.

Hing, Bill O., and Anthony D. Romero. Defining America Through Immigration Policy. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2004.

Periodicals

Del Conte, Natali T. "Out of the Shadows." Hispanic Magazine (March 2006).

Yoo, Lana. "Students Work to Pass DREAM Act." Daily Bruin (September 30, 2005).

Web sites

National Immigration Law Center. "DREAM Act: Basic Information." April 2006. 〈http://nilc.org/immlawpolicy/DREAM/index.htm〉 (accessed June 28, 2006).