Dream Act supporters protest in the Los Angeles area. (KTLA-TV) |
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VIDEO: Dream Act Pushed Closer to Passage - Lynette Romero reports
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Dream Act
Do you agree with the Dream Act (granting qualified illegal immigrants a path to U.S. citizenship)?
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Yes (549 responses)
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KTLA) -- Gov. Jerry Brown announced Saturday that he has signed legislation making illegal immigrants eligible to receive financial aid to attend state universities and community colleges.
Brown said he signed the legislation -- dubbed the California Dream Act -- because allowing high-achieving students access to financial aid makes sense.
"Going to college is a dream that promises intellectual excitement and creative thinking,'' Brown wrote in a prepared statement. "The Dream Act benefits us all by giving top students a chance to improve their lives and the lives of all of us.''
The act allows illegal immigrants accepted to state universities to receive Cal-Grant assistance beginning in 2013. Cal-Grant provided an average of $4,500 each to more than 370,000 low-income students.
AB 131 also allows students living in the U.S. illegally to get institutional grants while attending University of California and California State University systems. The act also allows those same students to receive fee waivers in the state community college system.
Brown said the state Department of Finance estimates that 2,5000 students will qualify for Cal Grants -- a total cost of $14.5 million -- as a result of the California Dream Act.
"The overall Cal Grant program is funded at $1.4 billion, meaning that 1% of all Cal Grant funds will be potentially impacted by AB 131 when the law goes into effect,'' read a statement from his office.
The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights Los Angeles (CHIRLA) lauded Brown's signing of the legislation.
"A great day for California, for education, and for immigrant students who have kept their end of the bargain and continue to give their best to the only nation they know as their home," CHIRLA spokesman Jorge-Mario Cabrera wrote in a statement. "AB131 opens a small window of opportunity to thousands of students who will continue to prove this nation that in spite of the obstacles they face, they shine like the stars they are. We are all winners with AB131."
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa released a statement Saturday praising the bill's passing, citing its potential to relieve mounting student debt.
"Today, California invests in the dreams of talented undocumented students and in the economic future of our state," Villaraigosa said. "I applaud Governor Brown for signing AB 131 into law and affirming the students' role in creating a bright and prosperous future for California. With California facing a deficit of one million college graduates by 2025, this law makes the most sense for our economy and society."
Brown said he signed the legislation -- dubbed the California Dream Act -- because allowing high-achieving students access to financial aid makes sense.
"Going to college is a dream that promises intellectual excitement and creative thinking,'' Brown wrote in a prepared statement. "The Dream Act benefits us all by giving top students a chance to improve their lives and the lives of all of us.''
The act allows illegal immigrants accepted to state universities to receive Cal-Grant assistance beginning in 2013. Cal-Grant provided an average of $4,500 each to more than 370,000 low-income students.
AB 131 also allows students living in the U.S. illegally to get institutional grants while attending University of California and California State University systems. The act also allows those same students to receive fee waivers in the state community college system.
Brown said the state Department of Finance estimates that 2,5000 students will qualify for Cal Grants -- a total cost of $14.5 million -- as a result of the California Dream Act.
"The overall Cal Grant program is funded at $1.4 billion, meaning that 1% of all Cal Grant funds will be potentially impacted by AB 131 when the law goes into effect,'' read a statement from his office.
The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights Los Angeles (CHIRLA) lauded Brown's signing of the legislation.
"A great day for California, for education, and for immigrant students who have kept their end of the bargain and continue to give their best to the only nation they know as their home," CHIRLA spokesman Jorge-Mario Cabrera wrote in a statement. "AB131 opens a small window of opportunity to thousands of students who will continue to prove this nation that in spite of the obstacles they face, they shine like the stars they are. We are all winners with AB131."
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa released a statement Saturday praising the bill's passing, citing its potential to relieve mounting student debt.
"Today, California invests in the dreams of talented undocumented students and in the economic future of our state," Villaraigosa said. "I applaud Governor Brown for signing AB 131 into law and affirming the students' role in creating a bright and prosperous future for California. With California facing a deficit of one million college graduates by 2025, this law makes the most sense for our economy and society."
