In spite of opposition from Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a Senate committee has resurrected the "Dream Act" ? legislation that would allow some undocumented students to qualify for in-state tuition at Minnesota colleges and universities.
The legislation is all about opportunity, according to students who testified Thursday. If the bill passes, they said, they have a chance to move beyond a high school education, to pursue a professional career, to have a better future, and to contribute more to their communities. If the bill fails, it makes college all but impossible to afford, they said.
"Let me go out and teach. Don't confine me to a McDonald's kitchen," Felipe Mancera told the Senate Higher Education Budget Division.
Mancera graduated with honors in 2004 from Highland Park High School in St. Paul. He was accepted at the University of Minnesota and two private universities. But because Mancera is undocumented ? he came to Minnesota as a child with his family ? he does not qualify for college financial aid.
Not only that, to pursue his teaching degree at the university, he would have to pay nearly three times more in tuition. His tuition alone would be $9,385 a semester ? the international student rate ? not the in-state rate of $3,570. That's despite the fact Mancera has been a Minnesota resident and attended Minnesota schools for more than 10 years.
So, despite the grades, the scores and the ambition, he's not in college. That dead end not only denies opportunity for students who want it, but drains hope from other students, Mancera said, and actually encourages them to drop out of high school.
Clergy, businesses support bill
Minnesota cannot afford to turn away minds or restrict access to a college education, said Sen. Sandy Pappas, DFL-St. Paul, the chief sponsor of the legislation (SF 2876).
Stacia Smith, of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, echoed Pappas' remarks. The state needs an educated workforce, Smith said, but faces a shortage of college-education workers. Current laws make the problem worse by making higher education inaccessible to the state?s growing immigrant population, she said.
The Dream Act is about more than economic opportunity, said the Rev. Grant Stevenson, of St. Matthew's Lutheran Church in St. Paul. It's an opportunity for Minnesota ?to shine morally in the world,? he said, to demonstrate that "we embrace the people who are working here, and we embrace the children of the people who are working here."
Without the Dream Act, Minnesota is denying full opportunity to people who are making "great contributions to society," said Carl Valdez, a deacon in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
Conditions don't satisfy Pawlenty
Pappas' bill would allow undocumented students to pay in-state tuition if they:
? Attended a Minnesota high school for at least three years.
? Graduated from a Minnesota high school or attain "the equivalent of high school graduation."
? Enroll in a public college or university.
? Provide an affidavit that they will apply "to become a permanent resident at the earliest opportunity the individual is eligible to do so."
The Minnesota State Colleges and University System is officially on record in support of the legislation. Some community colleges already allow students who meet the terms of the Dream Act to pay in-state tuition, said Susan Heegaard, of the state Office of Higher Education.
Nonetheless, Heegaard said, the governor opposes the legislation, saying it intrudes on a federal issue. But she stopped short of saying Pawlenty would veto the legislation, as he threatened last year, when it passed the full Senate.
Sen. Claire Robling, R-Jordan, supported the bill, but also cautioned that the real solution lies in federal immigration reform. The legislation is only a small piece of what the students need, she said; it does not provide financial aid and does not provide the documentation students need to legally work in the careers they want to pursue.
The bill may give hope, she said, but it may be a false hope.
The bill passed the education committee 8-2 and moves on to the full Finance Committee.
Michael Kuchta edits the Union Advocate, the official publication of the St. Paul Trades & Labor Assembly. E-mail him at advocate@stpaulunions.org
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In spite of opposition from Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a Senate committee has resurrected the “Dream Act” ? legislation that would allow some undocumented students to qualify for in-state tuition at Minnesota colleges and universities.
The legislation is all about opportunity, according to students who testified Thursday. If the bill passes, they said, they have a chance to move beyond a high school education, to pursue a professional career, to have a better future, and to contribute more to their communities. If the bill fails, it makes college all but impossible to afford, they said.
“Let me go out and teach. Don’t confine me to a McDonald’s kitchen,” Felipe Mancera told the Senate Higher Education Budget Division.
Mancera graduated with honors in 2004 from Highland Park High School in St. Paul. He was accepted at the University of Minnesota and two private universities. But because Mancera is undocumented ? he came to Minnesota as a child with his family ? he does not qualify for college financial aid.
Not only that, to pursue his teaching degree at the university, he would have to pay nearly three times more in tuition. His tuition alone would be $9,385 a semester ? the international student rate ? not the in-state rate of $3,570. That’s despite the fact Mancera has been a Minnesota resident and attended Minnesota schools for more than 10 years.
So, despite the grades, the scores and the ambition, he’s not in college. That dead end not only denies opportunity for students who want it, but drains hope from other students, Mancera said, and actually encourages them to drop out of high school.
Clergy, businesses support bill
Minnesota cannot afford to turn away minds or restrict access to a college education, said Sen. Sandy Pappas, DFL-St. Paul, the chief sponsor of the legislation (SF 2876).
Stacia Smith, of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, echoed Pappas’ remarks. The state needs an educated workforce, Smith said, but faces a shortage of college-education workers. Current laws make the problem worse by making higher education inaccessible to the state?s growing immigrant population, she said.
The Dream Act is about more than economic opportunity, said the Rev. Grant Stevenson, of St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church in St. Paul. It’s an opportunity for Minnesota ?to shine morally in the world,? he said, to demonstrate that “we embrace the people who are working here, and we embrace the children of the people who are working here.”
Without the Dream Act, Minnesota is denying full opportunity to people who are making “great contributions to society,” said Carl Valdez, a deacon in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
Conditions don’t satisfy Pawlenty
Pappas’ bill would allow undocumented students to pay in-state tuition if they:
? Attended a Minnesota high school for at least three years.
? Graduated from a Minnesota high school or attain “the equivalent of high school graduation.”
? Enroll in a public college or university.
? Provide an affidavit that they will apply “to become a permanent resident at the earliest opportunity the individual is eligible to do so.”
The Minnesota State Colleges and University System is officially on record in support of the legislation. Some community colleges already allow students who meet the terms of the Dream Act to pay in-state tuition, said Susan Heegaard, of the state Office of Higher Education.
Nonetheless, Heegaard said, the governor opposes the legislation, saying it intrudes on a federal issue. But she stopped short of saying Pawlenty would veto the legislation, as he threatened last year, when it passed the full Senate.
Sen. Claire Robling, R-Jordan, supported the bill, but also cautioned that the real solution lies in federal immigration reform. The legislation is only a small piece of what the students need, she said; it does not provide financial aid and does not provide the documentation students need to legally work in the careers they want to pursue.
The bill may give hope, she said, but it may be a false hope.
The bill passed the education committee 8-2 and moves on to the full Finance Committee.
Michael Kuchta edits the Union Advocate, the official publication of the St. Paul Trades & Labor Assembly. E-mail him at advocate@stpaulunions.org