okie52
10/10/2011, 08:59 AM
California Gov. Jerry Brown signs Dream Act into law
.By Liz Goodwin | The Lookout – 38 mins ago.. .
Young illegal immigrants in California can now compete for state-funded scholarships and grants in order to attend the state's prestigious universities and community colleges.
Gov. Jerry Brown signed the measure into law this Saturday. Illegal immigrants who graduated from the state's high schools could already attend college at in-state rates and compete for privately funded scholarships.
"The Dream Act benefits us all by giving top students a chance to improve their lives and the lives of all of us," Brown said in a statement.
Republican state lawmaker Tim Donnelly, who opposes the law, told the L.A. Times that he plans to start a referendum drive to get the issue on the ballot next year. A Senate committee estimated the grants will cost $40 million a year.
Even as at least five states passed laws cracking down on illegal immigrants over the past year, California, Rhode Island, Maryland and Connecticut have gone in the opposite direction by expanding access to college for illegal immigrants who graduate high school in those states. Currently, 11 states have laws extending in-state tuition rates to illegal immigrants, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. But before California endorsed this latest legislation, only two other states--Texas and New Mexico--had offered financial aid to those students.
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/california-gov-jerry-brown-signs-dream-act-law-131702249.html
An amazing state.
.By Liz Goodwin | The Lookout – 38 mins ago.. .
Young illegal immigrants in California can now compete for state-funded scholarships and grants in order to attend the state's prestigious universities and community colleges.
Gov. Jerry Brown signed the measure into law this Saturday. Illegal immigrants who graduated from the state's high schools could already attend college at in-state rates and compete for privately funded scholarships.
"The Dream Act benefits us all by giving top students a chance to improve their lives and the lives of all of us," Brown said in a statement.
Republican state lawmaker Tim Donnelly, who opposes the law, told the L.A. Times that he plans to start a referendum drive to get the issue on the ballot next year. A Senate committee estimated the grants will cost $40 million a year.
Even as at least five states passed laws cracking down on illegal immigrants over the past year, California, Rhode Island, Maryland and Connecticut have gone in the opposite direction by expanding access to college for illegal immigrants who graduate high school in those states. Currently, 11 states have laws extending in-state tuition rates to illegal immigrants, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. But before California endorsed this latest legislation, only two other states--Texas and New Mexico--had offered financial aid to those students.
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/california-gov-jerry-brown-signs-dream-act-law-131702249.html
An amazing state.