Dream Act Passes And Gets Mixed Reviews

With the Dream Act now signed into law, students who are in the United States illegally can qualify for financial aid. People here in the desert have strong opinions about this. Opponents argue this will encourage illegal immigration.

One College of the Desert student, Alfredo Vasquez, says it’s important to offer an education to young people, regardless of where they’re from.

“Even though they are illegal immigrants or they don’t have papers or they weren’t born here, they still affect our society in economic ways and socially,” he says.

Gov. Jerry Brown says the Dream Act will give about 25,000 undocumented students the chance to pursue higher education. The second, more controversial part of the bill that’s still being debated in the state senate would allow undocumented immigrants to get state-funded scholarships and financial aid. Opponents say that would take away potential scholarships from U.S. citizens.

Supporters make the argument that the Dream Act will help all of society by making education attainable.

Vasquez says “It can really help people advance themselves from lower paying jobs to higher education, from being a gardener to someone working at a retail store, to actually putting in new renovations into society.”