
After Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed AB 130 — better known as the California DREAM Act — it was up to Gov. Jerry Brown to see that this cause did not perish on his desk as well. The governor signed legislation Monday, granting undocumented college students access to private financial aid, whereas in past years paying for college had been the undocumented students’ burden alone. Yet to be decided is whether or not public funds should also be used to assist these same students. Everyone should have access to higher education, no matter his or her status. However, our state government has every right to feel weary at the idea of using our own limited public funding on the DREAM act as well.
The United States is significantly easier on illegal immigration than many other countries around the world. Instead of locking up non-citizens who survive primarily beneath the radar of law officials, America provides them with the means not only to exist, but more so to thrive. If you cross into this country illegally, chances are you have some sort of job waiting for you, along with a cost-free healthcare plan and a safer place to call home.
Access to better education is also among those determining factors when someone decides to flock to the U.S. As of now, it is the tax-paying citizens who foot the bill for the education provided to undocumented citizens. The prosperity of young immigrants is encouraged. But when such an individual finally receives their high school diploma —and is the closest they have ever been to a brighter future — this unfortunately is when the funds go dry.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the University of California awarded more than $45 million to undergraduates in donor-provided gifts and endowments last year. At the time, undocumented immigrants did not have access to these private scholarships. For far too many, this meant goodbye to any dreams of earning a degree.
The problem is, there is never going to be enough money to get everybody into college. Even with this bill that will grant qualified individuals access to private funds for education, proponents of its succeeding bill, AB 131, say these non-citizens should also be provided with public funding, which is simply something we cannot afford at the moment.
In an all-student notice sent out by CSULB Pres. F. King Alexander, he announced yet another tuition increase. In order to weather the statewide cost hike while keeping vital courses and services readily available, the university is asking for an additional $294 from all full-time undergraduate students and an even higher fee for full-time graduate students and individuals pursuing a teaching credential. California cannot spread itself any thinner. Money keeps getting tighter and none are in position to start giving it away.
Like everyone else, undocumented citizens are feeling the weight of costly higher education, but the California DREAM Act has finally been passed to ease that burden. Our country will continue to try its best to help prospective undocumented citizens to succeed, but at a very gradual pace in order to assure the prevention of any further crumbling of our economy.
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