California Dream Act
Issue: Empowering & Educating Communities
Target Level of Office: State
Policy Origin: California State Legislature
Poilcy/Bill Number: Assembly Bill 130
Link: www.YEONetwork.org/2013policy/?i=241
YEO Sponsor:
Assemblyman Luis Alejo
Summary Narrative of the Policy: This chaptered law works in concert with its partner bill,
Assembly Bill 131, to grant qualifying undocumented students access to scholarships and
financial aid at state colleges and universities.
Relevant Talking Points & Important Information:
• According to our partners at the Immigration Policy Center, each year, approximately
65,000 undocumented students graduate from high school, many of them at the top
of their classes, but are ineligible to go to college, join the military, work, or otherwise
pursue their dreams. Because of barriers to their continued education and their exclusion
from the legal workforce, many undocumented students are discouraged from pursuing
higher education. However, California has long been a leader and was one of the first
states to provide in-stat e tuition to undocumented students through Assembly Bill 540.
By passing the California Dream Act of 2011 through AB 130 and AB 131, California has
once again championed the rights of all Americans.
• While the California Dream Act cannot go as far as the proposed Development Relief
and Education of Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, it is a great leap forward for undocumented
youth. It allows undocumented students to apply for and receive private scholarships,
state financial aid, university grants, and community college fee waivers.
• According to the Immigration Policy Center, more than half of Californians are Latino
or Asian and they vote. In fact, California has long been a major point of entry and
resettlement for immigrants and is currently home to the largest numbers of immigrants,
Latinos, and Asians in the country. However, while their numbers influence the Californian
policy landscape, it is important to note that moving immigration reform forward is
something American voters are seeing cities and states accomplish far more than national
policymakers – from in-state tuition fees to the resettlement of asylum seekers.
Policy
2014 Book
State Level
71