A California state senator reintroduced a bill that would allow children of undocumented immigrants who have attended three or more years of high school in California to receive certain types of financial aid to attend colleges and universities.

The bill, known as the DREAM Act, was brought back to the California Legislature by Gilbert Cedillo, D-Los Angeles. The bill would permit students to receive State University grants, University of California grants, scholarships and certain types of loans. It would not allow them to compete for Cal Grants or apply for federal aid. The bill is currently being reviewed by the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Facilitating financial aid to undocumented students encourages these students to finish high school and attend college, said Eric Guerra, Senate fellow and Education Consultant for Cedillo.

“Helping these students to get an education creates a snowball effect,” Guerra said. “If going to college can become the norm for these students, more will graduate with degrees, which will increase their per-capita earnings. They will then spend more money, helping to fuel the economy.”

Guerra said there are an estimated 400 undocumented students currently attending classes in the University of California system and 1,200 in the California State University system.

Community colleges do not keep records on immigration status of students, Guerra said. If the DREAM Act passes, Guerra said the number of undocumented students attending colleges and universities in California will almost certainly increase.

The bill does not make paths for students to gain citizenship, said Jacqueline Wong-Hernandez, Senate fellow on the Committee of Budget and Fiscal Review.

“It is a push for federal action,” Wong-Hernandez said.

By opening doors for undocumented students at the state level, this proposal could affect federal law in the long run. As an example, California legislators passed a bill in 2001, allowing undocumented students who had completed three years of high school in California to pay in-state tuition fees. The bill was held to be constitutional in 2006, paving the way for other states to adopt similar laws. Currently, 10 states allow non-resident students to qualify to pay in-state tuition fees.

Christina Munez, senior sociology major at Sacramento State, said the Legislature should vote to pass the DREAM Act.

“Undocumented students should be able to get financial aid because many of them work as hard, or harder, than (legal students) do,” Munez said.

Elenyaa Klein, senior biological science major, said she feels that just because these students are not born in the United States, they shouldn’t be less eligible to get an education.

“As long as they work hard, they deserve the same opportunities I have,” Klein said.

Issues of equality still reign as arguments for finding methods to educate students in California.

“All of us graduate high school. If they can perform, why shouldn’t they be allowed to receive aid? These students should be treated the same as everybody who wants to live the American Dream,” said Christopher Hewitt, sophomore civil engineering major.

Not all students feel that hard work should give undocumented students access to financial aid for school. For many, being a citizen should be a prerequisite to gaining the benefit of an education in the United States.

Marque Willis, junior business major at Sac State, said there are other students who could benefit from the funds.

“What about legal students who are graduating from high school and their parents are middle class? They make more than the limit, but not enough to pay tuition. Those students get stuck with loans,” Willis said. “This is the land of opportunity, but we should take care of our own citizens first.”

Jarrod Dewan, junior business management major, saw other problems with the legislation.

“The state is in debt,” Dewan said. “I don’t approve of people getting benefits if they are not paying taxes.”

Even the origin of a person’s family and the legal definition of many immigrants came into question when addressing issues of funding education.

Sam Habtegeorgis, sophomore communication studies major, said many of these students are actually indigenous people, and should not be considered ‘illegal immigrants.’

“The first illegal immigrants to this country were the Europeans,” Habtegeorgis said. “Latino students should get financial aid before anyone else because their families were in the area long before anyone else.”

Derek Fleming can be reached at [email protected].