By Patrick Rita
Sentry Staff Reporter
Imagine being a student in Virginia that came to this country without proper documentation. You finish high school and crave a higher education instead of finding a job but simply cannot afford it. Instead of attending the college of your dreams, you have to settle for enrolling at a local Virginia Community College, while also working part-time. Thankfully, on Tuesday, April 29, students across Virginia woke up from this nightmare to hear that Attorney General Mark Herring announced that students with undocumented residency can qualify for in-state tuition to any Virginia public university.
One loophole, however, in this law is that not every student qualifies for in-state tuition. To qualify, a student must be enrolled in school, a high school graduate, or honorably discharged from the military, as well as have no criminal record and maintain one year of Virginia residency. They also have to have arrived in the country before 2007. Children and young adults that meet these requirements are known as “DREAMers”, which stands for Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors.
Minority Achievement Coordinator Shari Benites, along with “DREAMers” from across Arlington, actually went to see Herring speak and break the news of this Dream Act. Many of these students, who had previously assumed they were going to attend community college, if they attend college at all, were now jubilant that they could pursue an education at the college of their choice in Virginia.
“At the event, when he made the announcement, there was just an eruption of emotion and kids were in tears,” said Benites.
Benites also added that this means a lot considering there are two seniors at Yorktown now that will benefit immensely from the Dream Act.
“We have invested in them [DREAMers] for twelve years in most cases. They are bright and talented students who are going to make a difference. The two kids I know personally both want to be teachers so they are going to be giving back.”
Principal Dr. Raymond Pasi was also very much in favor of this new legislation.
“I think it is terrific. I am really happy for them and I know some of our students will take advantage of this and it is a great opportunity for them,” said Pasi.
In 2012, President Barack Obama initiated the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which is similar to the Dream Act, since qualifying for Deferred Action is the same as qualifying for in-state tuition. The goal of this program is to protect hardworking children from deportation and reward them with an opportunity to achieve the American Dream. Virginia is actually the 20th state to implement such an act. Unfortunately, as soon as Obama leaves office, this Deferred Action program could be overturned.
“I think we need a national immigration reform. I think there should be a path to citizenship for people that are doing what they are supposed to do. If you come here, you work hard, you go through school, I think you are a valuable citizen,” said Benites.
The fight is still not quite over for DREAMers. While this announcement changed the lives of DREAMers in Virginia, there are still many students who do not qualify for the benefits of the Dream Act. However, few, if any, scholarships exist for students who lack documented residency, making it that much more difficult for low-income immigrant families to afford to send their kids to school. On top of that, before the Dream Act, DREAMers in Virginia with even as high as a 3.5 Grade Point Average had trouble finding scholarship money. These kids also had to pay out-of-state tuition for Virginia Community Colleges, which is about triple the in-state cost and most needed jobs on the side to help pay for their education.
When asked what this Dream Act means for international students, Benites replied emphatically. “I would not call them international students because for most of these kids, they have been here since they were little. Their family is now here with them in America. For them, it [the Dream Act] is life changing,” said Benites.
