Undocumented students at Syracuse University are continuing to rally for the affordability of higher education.

The New York State Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act, or the DREAM Act, passed into the Assembly in May, but has been delayed. The reason behind this delay, however, is still unclear.

According to the National Immigration Law Center, the DREAM Act is a bill that would allow undocumented students who grew up in the United States to apply for temporary legal status. If they go to college or serve in the U.S. military, they can eventually become eligible for U.S. citizenship. It would also repeal laws that discourage states from providing in-state tuition based on immigration status.

Unlike most states, undocumented New York state residents are already offered in-state tuition rates. The NY Dream Act would, for the first time, grant undocumented students state financial aid as well, according to a May 2013 report from the New York Comptroller’s office.

But the act has a residency clause, and these benefits would only apply to New York residents. Those eligible could access the state’s Tuition Assistance Program and open a college savings plan, according to the report.

The act would also create a DREAM Fund Commission to raise private funds for scholarships to undocumented students, according to the comptroller’s report.

In light of the increasing demand for higher-skilled workers, the report noted that providing this financial aid would also likely encourage undocumented students to go to college.

But Georgina Perez, an undocumented student who transferred to Syracuse University in fall 2012 and advocates for the NY DREAM Act, said that until that aid is available, obstacles will persist for undocumented students and their families.

Perez, a senior women and gender studies major, has been campaigning to push the DREAM Act into law for the past few years, both in New York and at the federal level. She transferred to SU, she said, to leave behind a hostile attitude in Georgia toward aiding undocumented students.

She said she began campaigning in New York specifically to respond to the need of parents of undocumented students wanting to put their kids through college.

“The reality is that they’re working class people,” Perez said. “So, although they would qualify for in-state tuition, they can not pay out of pocket for a four year education.”

She is not a New York resident and wouldn’t directly benefit from the NY DREAM Act, but Perez said she accepts this campaign as her duty as both an undocumented student and member of the Syracuse community.

Perez said she spent the past year working with undocumented people in Syracuse, assessing the community’s needs and calculating a plan of action.

“I was privileged enough to be given this opportunity,” Perez said, referring to being an SU student. “I can’t just sit back and just enjoy the ride. I need to give back.”

But the bill is still sitting in the Assembly, lacking enough supporters in the Senate to be passed.

Last spring, Perez and her colleagues met with New York State Sen. David Valesky (D-NY 53^rd district), whose constituency includes parts of Syracuse, in hopes of convincing him to sponsor the act and rally more support in the Senate.

While he didn’t say no, he still hasn’t signed on as a sponsor, Perez said.

She said she has several initiatives for this school year, including a movie screening to raise awareness about the NY Dream Act and phone campaigns.

Perez also plans to meet with Valesky more often, as well as kick-start the campaign for the current Senate session early to begin generating support throughout the Syracuse community. She said she wants to gather signatures for the NY DREAM Act petition and speak in classes to get SU students and faculty involved as well.

She said she hopes to convince members of the SU administration who support the act to come out with an official stance on it, whether it be a statement from the chancellor or a letter to Valesky from an SU professor.

But, the campaign’s main target right now is the Senate, where support is lacking the most. This is not an unusual predicament, given that the Assembly is heavily Democratic and the Senate is Republican, said Kristi Andersen, a political science professor in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.

The divide is clear, as the Assembly included the NY DREAM Act in the new year’s budget, while the Senate did not.

But Andersen said she is not sure exactly where the opposition is, as the conversation up to this point has been generally supportive.

“You’ve got the administration, the comptroller, the governor presumably in favor of it, the assembly passed it,” Andersen said. “I don’t know where the opposition is.”

The only opposing view Andersen has heard is that state funds should not be used to provide educational opportunities for undocumented students. But, according to the state comptroller’s report, she said, in the long run the act would actually benefit the state financially.

“If you get an associate’s degree you will pay more taxes during your lifetime, if you get a bachelor’s degree you will pay more taxes,” Andersen said. “This is good, we’re having a better, educated work force.”

The NY DREAM Act is not only a smart move financially and socially, said Jose Mosso, a freshman computer engineering major, but “morally right.”

Mosso, also an undocumented student at SU, is working with Perez to pass the DREAM Act into law.

He said there are undocumented students graduating every year who are unable to land a job or continue their schooling because even in-state tuition is out of reach for them.

“Without financial aid it’s virtually impossible to go to school,” Mosso said.

The access to state financial aid would make it possible for more undocumented students to afford to school, he said. It is already available to students in California, New Mexico and Texas, Mosso said.

To add New York to the list, Mosso said, advocates need to put a face to the issue.

Said Mosso: “The biggest thing we can do is raise awareness and put pressure on the government to pass it.”

Published on October 7, 2013 at 1:39 am