In April of 2013, the Free Press published “Chasing the Dream,” a feature about undocumented immigrant students and The New School DREAM Team’s advocacy for the New York DREAM Act (NYDA). A year has elapsed since, so the Free Press has taken another look at where the NYDA stands and how students are being affected.
The New York DREAM Act, if passed, would extend eligibility for federal financial aid to undocumented college students. In February, the New York State Assembly passed the bill, which was introduced in March 2011; however, it was narrowly defeated in the senate by two missing votes last month.
“Every year that [the NYDA] doesn’t pass is another year that an undocumented student has to take time off from college or be in school part time because it’s unaffordable,” said Cecilia Frescas, co-founder of The New School DREAM Team, a student-led group that hosts panel discussions and other events to raise awareness about undocumented students.
If the bill passed, it would have made New York the fourth state to approve the law, along with California, Texas and New Mexico.
“We are still fighting to pass the DREAM Act,” said New York State Assemblyman Felix Ortiz on Twitter after the Senate’s defeat. “The session isn’t over and we will not give up the effort.”
Unlike Ortiz, not all politicians are openly supportive of the DREAM Act being approved in New York.
“Illegal immigration is illegal,” said Senator Greg Ball in a public statement issued on March 17. “The DREAM Act is a slap in the face to hardworking New Yorkers and immigrants that are here legally, paying taxes and doing it the right way.”
Emmanuel Vilchis, a 24 year-old City College of New York student, faces attitudes similar to that of Sen. Ball when advocating for approval of the DREAM Act in New York. Vilchis wants the Senate and Governor Cuomo to understand that undocumented students are not criminals, as they are often portrayed.
“We are students, we are teachers, we’re people that you walk by everyday on the streets,” Vilchis said.
Vilchis has lived in New York for 18 years and considers the United States his home. “Some of us may have been born somewhere else, but our values and lives are rooted in this country,” he said.
Vilchis explained that he is disappointed that he can’t call himself an American citizen. He and other undocumented students believe they deserve an equal chance at higher education.
Despite its defeat in the senate, the New York State Assembly intends to reintroduce the NYDA. The dream may not be dead, but for New York City high school student Diana Eusebio, who has lobbied with the New York State Youth Leadership Council for the DREAM Act since 2012, it may not come as soon as she had hoped.
Eusebio, 17, is on the science team at her high school and enjoys conducting research. She hopes to one day attend college to study biology or neuroscience. She is making a list of colleges she hopes to attend and explained that her classmates are also making lists of “safe” and “dream” schools. However, “safe schools” does not hold the same meaning for Eusebio.
“For me it’s not safe,” she said. “I know that I can pay in-state tuition, but it will be very difficult with no financial assistance. It’s all over the place with my situation.”
At a time when Eusebio wants to be concentrating on SAT testing and maintaining a high grade point average, she is advocating for the NYDA as well as organizing a group that educates other undocumented high school students on their college options.
“My high school has started having sessions with juniors about preparing for college, but that information doesn’t help me,” Eusebio said.
Eusebio feels left out, but understands that her guidance counselor has more than 70 other students to assist with college preparation. Her counselor encouraged her to organize to help other students like herself.
“I want to change the entire approach,” she said. “In the past there were counselors who told students that if they were undocumented, they couldn’t apply for college or that college wasn’t for them.”
In 2000, when Cecilia Frescas was six years old, her mother led her and six siblings across the border to the United States from their native Mexico. Today, Frescas is a junior double-majoring in global studies and politics at The New School. Although Frescas has lived in the United States for thirteen years and graduated from a high school in New Mexico, she does not receive financial aid like other international students. Instead, she earned a scholarship from The New World Foundation, a community activism support organization.
The New School DREAM Team, which Frescas co-founded, collaborates with other groups that represent undocumented students and immigrants in the city, such as the New York University DREAM Team, the New York State Youth Leadership Council, a volunteer-run undocumented youth organization, and Make the Road New York, a non-profit support organization for working-class Latino communities.
Not only will undocumented students benefit from the NYDA by receiving federal financial assistance, but increased access to higher education may also lead to better-paying jobs. With an associate’s degree, one will earn 47 percent higher wages than high school graduates, and bachelor’s degree holders will earn 85 percent higher than their non-degree holding peers, according to a report released by the New York State Comptroller’s Office. Higher incomes, in turn, generate higher state and local tax payments.
Some of the reluctance to pass the bill is due to complaints that the NYDA is not in the state’s budget. “The issues that are important to folks right now are school aid, tax cuts, affordability in New York State,” said Senate GOP Leader Dean Skelos to The New York Daily News in late March.
Frescas told the Free Press that the DREAM Team will focus on holding those who voted against the bill on March 17 accountable through their advocacy next year.
“We know who is with us and who is against us based on how they voted,” Frescas said.
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Unfortunately, that isn’t and wont be the case. Eusebio is one of the many hard working young people that are unfortunately found in this situation. The assumption you are making of them “stealing someone else’s Social Security Number and talking their way into a job” is ignorant. They have been working all their lives for what they have and they don’t need cheep short cuts to achieve it. And how are they “criminals?” What law have they broken? Besides being brought to this country by their parents… The answer is NONE.
Any state “Dream” Act does two things:
Makes it easier for illegal aliens to get seats at state universities and therefore makes it tougher for citizens of the state to gain entrance.
Raises taxes for the state’s citizens.
“..Eusebio, 17, is on the science team at her high school and enjoys conducting research. She hopes to one day attend college to study biology or neuroscience…”
Then she’ll steal someone else’s Social Security Number and talk her way into a job. I call this entire concept the SNEAK Act. Crooked politicians rewarding their fellow criminals. Listen to the polls. Most New Yorkers aren’t buying it.