KRISTIN MELODY
STAFF WRITER
Nayeli is like many third-year students at Cal State San Marcos. The accounting major attended San Bernardino high school, earned her associate degree at MiraCosta College and hopes to become a Certified Public Accountant after she graduates.
But Nayeli, who asked that only her middle named be used to protect her identity, is very different from most students in another way. She is an illegal alien. The 25-yearold student was brought to this country by her parents from Ciudad Juarez at age 15 to avoid the high crime. As a result, she has funded school out of pocket and with the help of family and friends, because she was barred from applying for private university scholarships and grants, Cal Grants and other financial aid.
Nayeli is one of an estimated 2,500 California college students who will now be able to apply for financial aid as the result of the California Dream Act.
“There are a lot of people with so much talent that [sic] don’t go to school because they do not have the financial means to do it,” Nayeli said. “We all share the same dream of contributing to this country as professionals.”
There are not any current statistics on how many CSUSM students are illegal aliens, but Cipriano Vargas— Treasurer for the CSUSM chapter of Movimiento Estudiantil Chican@ de Aztlán (M.E.Ch.A.) and Social Justice Officer for Associated Students Inc. (ASI)— estimated the number to be about 1 percent, or 100 of the university’s roughly 10,000 students.
Vargas said the students who would become eligible for aid through the Dream Act shouldn’t be penalized for acts of their parents; they should be accepted into American society.
“Most AB 540 students are brought [to the United States] as young kids, and they consider the U.S. their home. It wasn’t their option to come here undocumented. They shouldn’t be punished,” Vargas said, a third-year Sociology and Women Studies major who hopes to practice law in California.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported in 2011 that more than 25,000 undocumented students graduate from California high schools each year.
Opposition to the Dream act addressed California’s preexisting debt crisis and the priority of legal students obtaining aid, warning that this law will affect students now and for years to come.
State Assembly-person Tim Donnelly (R-Twin Peaks) launched a petition drive last fall to overturn AB 131, but it fell short of the signatures needed to make it on to the November ballot. On his website, StopAB131.com, he wrote:
“We will not give up in the war to save California from the reckless politicians who want to raise our taxes to put the college dreams of illegals ahead of our own children.”
Another Republican state senator, Robert Dutton (R-Rancho Cucamonga), said the Dream Act comes at a difficult time for the debt-plagued state of California.
“We don’t even have enough money to provide financial aid for students who are here legally let alone illegally,” Dutton stated in a release.
But the Joint Committee on Taxation, a nonpartisan committee of the U.S. Congress, said that helping motivated college students graduate and move into professional careers will help the economy.
“On balance, these changes would increase revenues by $2.3 billion over 10 years,” the committee reported.
The issue of financial aid and California debt has been a hot topic debate, but with immigration mixed in the talks, tension has risen.
Vargas experienced discrimination on campus including “minute men on campus that promote hate.”
Programs on campus like Standing Together As oNe Dream (STAND) and College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) raise awareness and provide support regarding immigration and higher education.
Nayeli had experienced discrimination while obtaining her Associate Degree in Accounting at MiraCosta from a counselor and the administration office, but she said “it did not discourage me from pursuing my dream of obtaining a Bachelor’s Degree.”
“I believe that the access to higher education shouldn’t be measure by your legal status in this country, but by your academic achievements,” Nayeli said.
California Dream Act facts
The California Dream Act, signed into law late last year by Governor Jerry Brown, makes scholarships and state financial aid available to qualified illegal aliens attending California colleges.
The Assembly Bill 130 (AB 130) and 131 (AB 131) acts only pertain to undocumented college students who attended three or more years of high school in California, graduated from a California high school and are applying for lawful immigration status. These students are referred to as “AB 540 eligible,” meaning that they qualify for in-state tuition rates (not the higher nonresident tuition rate).
AB 130 went into effect Jan. 1 and allows AB 540 students to apply for private grants and scholarships.
AB 131 will take effect Jan. 1, 2013, and allows eligible AB 540 students to apply for Cal Grants, Board of Governors Fee Waivers, Institutional student aid and UC and CSU scholarships and grants in the fall 2013 term.
In a letter to students explaining AB 131, the UC Financial Aid office estimated that of the 800 UC students state-wide who would qualify for Cal Grants in 2013, 500 are legal citizens and 300 are illegal. And roughly 440 illegal alien students would qualify for about $4.7 million in UC grants and scholarships.
UC officials say illegal aliens represent less than 0.5 percent of registered students, so their impact on the amount of financial aid available to legal residents would be negligible.
Gov. Brown’s office estimates about 2,500 California college students will become eligible to apply for Cal Grants under AB 131 next year at a cost of about $14.5 million to the state (1 percent of total Cal Grant funding). A senate committee budget analysis estimates that the cost of additional Cal Grants, fee waivers and university grants will push up the cost to the state to about $40 million per year.