National Council of La Raza: Policies

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Overview

Every year, U.S. high schools graduate approximately 65,000 immigrant students. Brought to this country as young children, they have grown up in American K-12 schools and share our culture and values. Like their U.S.-born peers, they dream of pursuing higher education. Unfortunately, due to their immigration status, they are barred from the opportunities that make a college education affordable – in-state tuition rates, state and federal grants and loans, most private scholarships, and the ability to legally work their way through college. In effect, they are denied the opportunity to share in the “American Dream.”

If passed, the “Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act” would facilitate access to college for immigrant students in the U.S. by restoring states’ rights to offer in-state tuition to immigrant students residing in their state. The “DREAM Act” would also provide a path to citizenship for hardworking immigrant youth who were brought to the U.S. as young children and to pursue higher education or military service, enabling them to contribute fully to our society. For more information, please see NCLR's brief summary of the “DREAM Act.”

Status

Representatives Howard Berman (D-CA), Lucille Royball-Allard (D-CA), and Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL) introduced the House version of the "DREAM Act," which is called the “American Dream Act," H.R. 1275, on March 1, 2007. Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL), Chuck Hagel (R-NE), and Richard Lugar (R-IN) are expected to introduce the "DREAM Act" shortly.

NCLR Position

NCLR urges passage of the “DREAM Act” and the "American Dream Act." This legislation, which provides a path to U.S. citizenship for hardworking and talented immigrant students who have been raised in the U.S., is critical to improving the pipeline from high school to college and providing meaningful employment for Latinos.