A Dream Deferred: Undocumented Students: An Analysis

The laws for immigration and undocumented people are very harmful to the young people who come to America as children and live here most of their lives and work in an effort to achieve the American dream. The author of A Dream Deferred: Undocumented Students at CUNY talks about undocumented students she’s encountered whose educational experience was over shadowed in some way by them being undocumented.

Current immigration policies are very harmful to undocumented students. Because of laws such as Proposition 187 in California, undocumented student Luisa and her family had to move out of California in favor of a state with less harsh immigration laws. This is a reality for many other families who have to move out of a state to avoid running

into law enforcement. Another consequence of current policies occured after September 11th when many states passed laws requiring universities to charge an out of state tuition. This charge for being out of state ends up being 2-3 times more expensive than in-state tuition. Such high prices on higher education are another deterence in undocumented students obtaining their degree. Many of these students opt for community college instead of 4-year universities simply because they cannot afford the tuition charges. Students either leave and go back after saving money or never do go back. Undocumented students also have to deal with the harsh reality of avoiding Immigration and Customs Enforcement which further deters them from having access to good jobs and a college eduction. They also have to deal with family members being deported back to their home country.
The Dream Act is a federal policy that could change much of these obstacles for undocumented students. The Dream Act would give students an oppurtunity to obtain legal residents and eventually citizenship upon completing a 2 year program, 2 years towards a B.A. or by serving 2 years in the U.S. Military. In order to qualify for this the student must have arrived in the U.S. before the age of fifteen and have a good moral standing through their time in the U.S. and while in school. This act would give them access to federal work programs and student loans.
The author advocates for this act as it offers undocumented students a chance for citizenship. It would also give them access to more financial options such as loans.
The Dream Act does have limitations. The author questions how one would define a “good moral standing”. Questioning gay students, activists, and students who have been arrested for acts of civil disobedience. Would they still fall under a good moral standing or not? The military option is also called into question. The author states “It gives ammunition to recruiters to convince these students to participate in military service instead of going to college.” The author points out how recruiters are already preying on communities of low income and color, and also already give the option to pay for school once they finish time in the military.
Although the Dream Act is a policy that would have a positive effect it still has many flaws and has yet to be passed by the government.