The Delaware DREAM Act Introduced Today
This is very positive news — Senator Robert Marshall and Rep. Helene Keeley (or Rep Joe Miro according to the NJ) are the lead sponsors on a bill announced today at the LACC that would allow undocumented children to qualify for in-state college tuition rates and scholarships. If it gets passed, Delaware would be the 12th state that would level the playing field for these children.
According to Newsworks.org:
The First State’s version of the DREAM Act (Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors), would also allow such students to qualify for the existing SEED and Inspire scholarship programs that allow students to more affordably attend the University of Delaware, Delaware State University or Delaware Technical and Community College. To qualify, a student would have to have attended a Delaware public or private high school for at least three years. He or she also must meet admission requirements of the college or university, and must have a record free of any felony convictions.
Marshall and Keeley seem to be expecting a fight to get this passed:
The sponsors believe they could be in for a battle to get the legislation passed, as the immigration debate plays out nationally on the political stage. “Regardless of your feelings on immigration, I think everyone can agree that it is unfair to punish children who are brought to this country illegally by preventing them from receiving an education,” Keeley said.
But it is worth it, right? These children are here because their parents brought them here. If they have been studying and doing well in school, there is no reason to not let them take advantage of a higher education at the in-state price. Or even to let them qualify for scholarships typically set aside for Delaware residents. Because they are Delaware residents. And like every other Delaware resident under the age of 18, they are Delaware residents because their parents are here.
Rep. Joe Miro is also supporting this bill, so we even have bi-partisanship on this. This is excellent work by Marshall, Keeley and Miro. I’m represented by Marshall and Keeley and could not be prouder of them for putting this forward. You should reach out to your representatives and tell them to support this legislation so that these kids have the chance they deserve.
Tags: DREAM Act
Great post Cass!! – AND we should be So,SO proud of our legilators – who – in the face of all this racial discord, are willing to come together for kids – kids that will ensure a better furture for us and themelves.
This is a tough, bi-partisian decision and a tough road to hoe – but with our support, all will ultimately benefit
and that is what Community is all about anyway!
thanks again Cass!
My head explodes. These are not “children”. They are now adults, who need to do the adult thing and make their status legal. Period. If I can’t send a child to a Pennsylvania school and get in-state tuition, for a child born in the US–why in the world would a pass be given to an alien birthright? Miro et al need to rethink this one real fast. Do you think the schools are going to welcome the tuition deal? And how ’bout the kid next door who joined the military to have access to a subsequent GI Bill to help w/ his in-state tuition? Life is tough. Those parents made the decision because all the risk and sacrifice was apparently worth it. The adult children can now decide if the sacrifice is worth pursuing.
Nailed it, Joanne.
Alien birth….. how humane of you.
These people shouldn’t be rewarded nor packed up and set home (unless they’re criminals). Something needs to be done but it has to be fair and can’t discourage the people LEGALLY trying to enter the US. The taxpayers in this state are already over burden with high income taxes. NO FREE RIDES.
only to be toped by THIS guy. you dont call yourselves “christians” do you?
Rockland, do you drive a pick’em’up truck with an NRA sticker, a Palin magnet and gun rack?
These people? Oh my.
heh, i find myself really digging FBH’s argument from yesterday…. if you dont like it, move to a state who’s level of selfishness, racism, and xenophobia is more to your liking.
I agree with the no free rides. No one chooses their parents, we all have to play with the hand we are dealt. Haven’t these children all ready been given one of the greatest opportunities for success? When is enough enough?
It has nothing to do with selfishness, racism, or xenophobia, it is what reasonable people should expect and do.
@Ben – dude you go!! good posts
@Joanne – please!! please drop me some pearls of wisdom and explain EXACTLY HOW those eligible for the DREAM ACT can make themselves “legal”??
Coz there is an entire Federal government just looking for a way to solve the issue – so if you know how – SHARE, go on – enlighten all us poor fools who dont know
do you think its like going to Super Fresh and applying for a “Club card”? or some thing like that??
go read USC title 8 and when you have digested that little gem get back to me – I dont post on Red Clay school issues coz I dont know enough to have a well-informed opinion about it
maybe you should do the same on immigration issues. š
If you bothered to read the bill – its a Delaware bill for residents of Delaware paying in-state tuition rates – how is that different from any other kid living in Delaware – did anyone even mention going to school in PA??
How about the Federal DREAM ACT tht has a provision for the kids to do just that?? join the military?? HMMMM?? in order to get a PATH to citizenship – just a PATH – not the citizenship itself.
wow – some folks are just unreal – all that exercise jumping to conclusions
Miro et al don’t need to “rethink” anything – you maybe just need to think, period
conservatives must hate children… they love fetuses, but hate children…. JC, you MUST realize that “these people’ as you so disgustingly called them, were brought here BY THEIR PARTENTS as children too young to make another decision. Should “they” be punished for what their parents did? should they have stayed …. wherever…. as a parentless street child?
The DREAM act IS a path to legal citizenship….. and when the journey is over, they are educated hard working americans…. who happen to be brown… is THAT your real problem?
@meatball – if they are DE residents and pay DE taxes why shouldn’t they get in-state tuition?
Its what reasonable people expect and do……….
I only love fetus if it’s cooked right. Are these kids legal residents of Delaware? Marylanders are not legal reidents of Delaware, nor are Ukrainians. Are they here illegally even if through no fault of their own?Well, yes, but I don’t believe it to be my public burden to make it easier for these children to succeed. The point is expectations should be higher for these (Norweigan) children. The bar set higher for their parents to pass the dream onward for their children.
@BEN – im in love……….hearts….
she holds herself up to be a “champion of the children” maybe on “certain children” are worthy of her….focus
the terms citizen and resident are not interchangable – they are different with different meanings.
one needs only to be a resident to qualify for in-state tuition,
so if they are residents,as defined by code, then there is your answer.
Marylanders and Ukrainians and Norweigans can all establish residency in Delaware and pay in-state tuition – why not other children that are also residents of Delaware?
Equal protections and equal access are ideals enshrined in the 14th amendment after all….
“Well, yes, but I donāt believe it to be my public burden to make it easier for these children to succeed. ”
and there you have the reason conservatives are bad for this country. me me me. Where can i pay less taxes to make sure im in NO WAY funding it if, god forbid, you ever need police, emt, or firefighter assistance. I
aww shucks, aoine! right back atcha.
Hah right! anyone with a Delaware mailing address…white or not white, is a resident…..
maybe THAT is the new fight for meatball and JC and Occam…. only people who’s entire family line can be traced back to the Kalmar Nickle are REAL Delawareians.
“Marylanders and Ukrainians and Norweigans can all establish residency in Delaware and pay in-state tuition ā why not other children that are also residents of Delaware?” Ukranians and Norweigans who are in the country illegally cannot establish residency because they don’t have the proper documentation and it is wrong.
yummy – thanks Ben
on top of that – when Joanne and meatball are old, (and me too) the children that got a good education and that this country gave opportunity to, will be productive tax-paying citizens – bolstering the tax-base, ie Medicare, medicaid, and Social Security etc…
remember – the rising tide lifts ALL boats!
it does not do well for a nation to be so short-sighted as to deny a quality education – after all, they are paying for their education themselves or competeing for monies available….
I dont care where the Doctor that saves my life, or the life of a fmaily member came from – or how they got here or whether or not their parents had legal immigration status….
all I want to know is are they the best I can get – think about that!
@meatball – I beg to differ – they can and do in fact establish residency
that is not the same as legal immigration status…
two seperate words – two different issues – nothing in the tuition policies say applicants have to have LEGAL residency…..
the universities are not ICE – money is still green – why would they care – not their job – their job is to educate, not enforce immigration law
you are talking apples and oranges
Oh My Ben!! I was thinking that the only REAL Delawareans were the Lenai Lenape and the Nanticoke
do they get in-state tuition??
Aoine said “the terms citizen and resident are not interchangable ā they are different with different meanings.”
In general I have not been in favor of in-state tuition for those who are not in the country legally. But seeing it parsed this way, I realize there is a difference. I suppose one can be in the state legally (or rather a legal resident of the state) and be an illegal resident of the nation. Given the different definitions, I can see how one could qualify for in-state tuition even when one is in the country illegally.
In researching the DE code, I find that the definition of resident is not universally defined in the code. But Chapter 417 (Harness Racing!!) has this to say:
In determining whether a person is a Delaware Resident, the term “resident” shall mean the place where an individual has his or her permanent home, at which that person remains when not called elsewhere for labor or other special or temporary purposes, and to which that person returns in seasons of repose. For purposes of this section, the term “residence” shall mean a place a person voluntarily fixed as a permanent habitation with an intent to remain in such place for the indefinite future.
The DE DOE says that filing taxes in DE, AND one of the following: Delaware driver’s license, Delaware state identification card,Delaware vehicle registration, or Delaware voter registration card
The DMV says non-citizens must present their immigration documents to get an ID card or drivers license and are not eligible otherwise.
Bottom line: DE Code seems to support residency even for those in the country illegally. DE regulation is somewhat ambiguous but seems to suggest that they are not residents.
Therefore, it would seem possible that one could be a legal resident of a state, while being an illegal resident of the country. Consequently, providing in-state tuition may have legitimacy.
I’m not happy when logical arguments can be made that are contrary to my convictions, but I have to accept there is a meaningful distinction between citizen (or legal resident of the nation) and legal resident of a state (at least this one).
wow. A rare showing a maturity and reason on a political blog!
all that is left is the moral question of do you care enough about your fellow human and the future of this country to over look something they had no say in and let them become a successful member of society WHILE they are becoming a LEGAL citizen?
@sb “…do you care enough about your fellow human…”
You’re looking at this all wrong. This is not a gift we are giving them, this is a gift that they are giving us!! Strong college level public education is a driving force in that state’s economy. Getting the best kids to enter and then graduate and then stay in the state, provides a real competitive edge.
Just compare North Carolina and South Carolina. The difference is dominated by the support for higher level education. And what you get is the RTP high-tech center and all that is associated with that.
Only the short sighted will want to send their state’s best students packing for something as silly as where they were born.
yeah LE… its not a gift, i resented that poorly… its an investment. I am paying for someone else to have access to education in the hopes they use it, (and evidence shows they will) become proficient in a skill that benefits society… and by extension me and my children…. so THEY can then pay into the same system so my kids can have access to education without me having to cut back of food, shelter, medical access.
naaa… everyone for themselves and those in their church (who arent too foreign) is a MUCH better system.
Ummm, yea all of the above but I wasn’t trying to deny anyone a quality education, I just don’t want to giiiive them a discount. Also, I read the DMV requirement as immigration papers required. The folks we’re talking about don’t have immigration papers.
Look, I’ve been on both sides of this argument myself, but the bottom line came down to are they here illegally. The answer being yes then how can I justify giving them special privilages. By all means, let them use our fine university system, but pay at the full rate. After all, they may be displacing some other fine student who also has great potential to providde for your future social security needs.
@mb “By all means, let them use our fine university system, but pay at the full rate.”
The standard in-state tuition is basically the full rate. Almost no one pays more.
“After all, they may be displacing some other fine student who also has great potential to provide for your future social security needs.”
The student being displaced most likely deserves to be displaced. Such students will generally not make your state great… in fact they drag it down. There are too many in college who really haven’t earned the right for the “special privilege” of in-state tuition.
“There are too many in college who really havenāt earned the right for the āspecial privilegeā of in-state tuition.”
Wow. Except for the fact that they are in the country legally.
Pehaps those in favor of this legislation should spend more time lobbying for immigration reform or perhaps increased quotas. Aside from rewarding illegal behavior, this act encourages others to follow, illegally. Its simply undeniable.
but the bottom line came down to are they here illegally.
Correction — their parents brought them here illegally. These kids had no agency in this thing. And if they have been going to school and making the kind of achievements that you need to make to to go to college, then they are clearly residents and clearly should be eligible for the in-state tuition rates. There’s no special privilege in that — especially since the original sin you want to punish here is not that child’s fault.
Ditto to meatball. Access fine, discount denied. Full pay, just like it is for anybody else wanting to go to an out of state public school within the country they have been domiciled legally. What’s so bad about that? If the student is such a phenom, they and their families will find a way to make it work. Many before them have done so. It’s not hard hearted, it’s responsibility. Why continue to enable a poor, illegal choice? It really adds to making the risk worth it.
WHat poor “illegal” choice have these kids made? Did they choose to personally violate a rule abOut permission to enter the US when they were 2 or 3? Hmmmm interest
“If the student is such a phenom, they and their families will find a way to make it work.”
I’ll remember your strong commitment to fairness when, say, we decide a good way to save money is to eliminate school nurses.
“Many before them have done so.”
And many before them haven’t been able to. You apparently don’t give a shit.
“Itās not hard hearted, itās responsibility.”
No, actually, it’s hard-hearted, and you’re a myopic shit-heel. But don’t let that stop your morality lesson.
“Why continue to enable a poor, illegal choice?”
Because the rate of tuition open to people who have lived long enough in Delaware to qualify does no such thing. You find me a person who moved to the US illegally who decided to live in Delaware just because they figured they would someday be able to get in-state tuition, and I’ll concede you have a point. At this point, you actually have a bag full of bullshit that you insist is still grass.
“It really adds to making the risk worth it.”
You brass-plated asshole. You don’t have the first clue what people who come to this country illegally think or why they did it. You have all the compassion for others I have come to expect of conservatives.
@JC “Itās not hard hearted”
Yes it is! It’s asinine AND it’s stupid public policy. You hurt these kids AND you hurt your state… and for what?? Please tell me it isn’t blatant racism… cause nothing else makes a lick of sense.
@mb “Wow. Except for the fact that they are in the country legally.”
Big deal. You think you can make America great with entitlements?
Too many lazy kids think that they’re owed four years at college where they just go and party. The direct way to make a school better is to only let kids in who are serious about education. That’s why Harvard and MIT are ranked the top two schools in the world (2012 World University Rankings — released today).
“their parents brought them here illegally. These kids had no agency in this thing”
That’s the crux of it. Having a conscience I cannot visit the sins of the fathers upon the sons. If they are residents, they go at the resident rate.
I still want a path to citizenship or rather I want a path to legal status, whether it be citizenship or resident legal alien. We cannot overlook laws or continue to chip away of the meaning and intent of the laws using terms like “undocumented.” If a law needs to be changed (or added) we should do so. There is no reasonable explanation for not having fixed this in Congress, by either party.
No one has convinced me that it is hard hearted to require undocumented individuals to pay full tuition rather than a “discounted” in state tuition.
Again, a perfect example of uninformed folks voting against their own best interests. It is best for a community, large or small to do the very best for the next generation. We should want them as independent, and productive as possible. Denying those who have the ability and desire to improve themselves and therefore give back to their community is sheer idiocy.
But that is usually the result of bigotry, racism, selfishness and stubbornness, and ignorance.