Improving access to higher education for undocumented students

Latino/a Educational Achievement Project

May 2007

Founded in 1998 to improve academic achievement of Latino/a students in Washington State to.

To accomplish its mission, LEAP: Utilizes a statewide network of educators, students,

community leaders and institutions to develop annual educational policy priorities.

Advises state elected officials at all levels on education policies aimed at improving academic achievement for Latino students.

Helps students gain access to higher education, to understand how government works, and to prepare to become future leaders in our state and nation.

2006-07 LEAP Education Priorities• Mentor and train high school students, and grant them full-tuition college

scholarships provided they agree to obtain teaching certificates and teach in Washington’s public schools.

• Provide college and career readiness centers for students who are behind academically beginning in the 10th grade or earlier; such centers should be open on weekends, evenings, and during summer months, and available to students in age-appropriate environments through age 21, as allowed by state law.

• Extend the State Need Grant (SNG) program to undocumented student. The SNG provides college financial aid to students whose families cannot afford the cost of college.

• Encourage the United States Congress to grant legal residency to college-bound students who have been educated in our high schools. (The American DREAM Act, pending in Congress, would accomplish this.)

In-state tuition for undocumented students in Washington State

Signed by Governor Gary Locke, May 2003

Enables undocumented students to pay in-state tuition to attend Washington colleges and universities.

House Bill 1079

HB 1079 EligibilityHB 1079 Eligibility

Lived in Washington State for 3 years immediately before Lived in Washington State for 3 years immediately before receiving a high school diploma or a general equivalent receiving a high school diploma or a general equivalent degree (GED). degree (GED).

Completed full senior year at a Washington high school.Completed full senior year at a Washington high school.

Continuously resided in Washington since earning the Continuously resided in Washington since earning the high school diploma or GED.shigh school diploma or GED.s

Expanding Access to Higher Education

HB 1079 students must:Washington Higher Education Residency

Affidavit/Declaration/Certification Effective July 1, 2003, Washington state law changed the definition of “resident.” The law makes certain students, who are not permanent residents or citizens of the United States, eligible for resident student status -and eligible to pay resident tuition rates -when they attend public colleges and universities in the state. The law does not make these students eligible to receive need -based state or federal financial aid. To qualif y for resident status, students must complete this affidavit/declaration/certification if they are not permanent residents or citizens of the United States but have met the following conditions: Resided in Washington State for three (3) years immediately prior to receiving a high school diploma, and completed the full senior year at a Washington high school,

or Completed the equivalent of a high school diploma and resided in Washington state for the three (3) years immediately before receiving the equival ent of the diploma,

and Continuously resided in the state since earning the high school diploma or its equivalent. ________________________________________ _____________________ Print full name Date of birth (mo/day/yr) ______________________ __________________ Student Identification Number (if available) Relationship to college or university: __Applicant __ Current Student I certify that: I will file an application to become a permanent resident of the United States as soon as I am eligib le to apply. I am also willing to engage in activities designed to prepare me for citizenship, including citizenship and civics review courses. I certify or declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of Washington that the foregoing is true and correct. ______________________

1. Meet eligibility requirements (see prior slide).

2. Submit an admissions application to any Washington State pubic institution of higher education

3. Submit the House Bill 1079 Affidavit (shown) along with each college application

Note: HB 1079 does not change a student’s legal status, nor does it make the students for state or federal financial aid.

HB 1079: Access to Higher Education

Affidavit available at www.leapwa.org

Expanding Access to Higher Education

HB 1079, the DREAM Act (HR 1275) and Immigration Reform

State Law: ENACTED IN WASHINGTON IN 2003 and seven other states in the nation

HB 1079 allows undocumented students to pay resident tuition in our state, but it does not affect federal immigration policy.

Federal Law: PENDING IN THE U.S. CONGRESS

The American DREAM Act, if approved, is an important and necessary first step in changing federal immigration so that deserving students who have been educated in the U.S. can live and work legally.

Education Advances in the United States

States with In-State Tuition for Undocumented Students

The American DREAM Act (HR 1275)

If approved by the U.S. Congress and President Bush, the American DREAM Act would grant temporary legal residency to undocumented students who graduate from high school, allowing them to live and work in the U.S. legally.

To be eligible, students must:

• Have lived in the U.S. for at least 5 years;• Been brought to the U.S. at the age of 15 or younger;• Be of good moral character.

Within six years of obtaining temporary legal residency, to be considered for permanent legal residency (and citizenship) a student must:

• Graduate from a two-year college; or, • Complete two years towards a four-year degree; or, • Serve in the U.S. military for 2 years.

Fair and Sensible Immigration Policies

Two-step Strategy for Immigration Reform:

1. Approve the American DREAM Act that permits college-bound students educated in the United States to live, work and attend college legally.

2. Approve comprehensive immigration reform that is fair to employers and workers, and includes those families who have contributed for several years to the economic and social fabric of the United States.

Immigrant students--deserving scholars in Washington

“… talented young people whose only ‘crime’ was obeying their parents when they crossed the border. Some came as infants so they bear even less culpability.”

“While more and more are graduating from our high schools--some with honor, others as valedictorians of their senior classes, they’re conflicted about going to college.”

“Despite the obstacles, some find a way to earn college degrees, fully prepared to teach in our schools or to be lawyers, engineers and doctors..”

-- Governor Christine Gregoire letter to U.S. Senator Patty Murray

March 31, 2006

The value of immigrant workers in Washington

“Washington’s economy lives and breathes through agriculture, an industry in which at least 60 percent of its labor force is immigrant labor.”

“The value of the hand harvested fruit industry exceeds $1.6 billion a year.”

“We are one of the top five states in the country in farm worker employment. And key crops, like our apples and cherries, are heavily dependent on migrant and seasonal farm workers.”

-- Governor Christine Gregoire letter to U.S. Senator Patty Murray

March 31, 2006

The value of immigrant workers in Washington

United States Senators and Members of the House of Representatives understand the value of immigrant families:

“The raids, the well publicized confrontation and, above all, anxious calls for help from onion farmers sent two Republican lawmakers from Georgia hurrying home from Washington (D.C.) to rein in the Immigration and Naturalization Service … within days, the INS agreed not to interfere with this year’s harvest.”

Washington Post Weekly, July 13, 1998

“When similar raids were conducted during the cherry harvest in our state, the Tacoma News Tribune, June 8, 1997, reported that three members of Washington’s Congressional delegation joined farmers in complaining about ‘overzealous tactics’ and ‘too much INS activity.’ “

-- Ricardo Sanchez (op-ed) Yakima Herald Republic

May 13, 2007

The American DREAM Actan important first step

“… the vast majority of U.S. citizens would applaud the Congress for demonstrating that it has the wisdom, courage and compassion to do what is right for thousands of scholars who were educated here, and who did not willfully break our laws.

“No young scholar educated in the United States should be without hope of an education and without hope of a future.”

-- Ricardo Sanchez (op-ed) Yakima Herald Republic

May 13, 2007

DREAM Act Strategy

1. Encourage organizations or institutions (school boards, board of trustees, regents) to approve a resolution in support of the DREAM Act (sample available at www.leapwa.org.

2. Forward the resolution to Washington State’s Congressional Delegation (contact information available at www.leapwa.org.)

3. Schedule a meeting with your congressional representative to discuss the American DREAM Act and comprehensive immigration reform. Present resolutions from your local area’s educational institutions and be prepared to explain the benefits and justice of fair and reasonable immigration policies, beginning with the DREAM Act. A diverse, small delegation (4-6 people) that includes students, educators, and visible, well-respected community leaders is recommended.

4. Send signed resolutions to LEAP office:Latino/a Educational Achievement ProjectPO Box 98000, MS: 99-285 Des Moines, WA 98198

For more information: info@leapwa.org 206.878.3710 ext. 5176