Keeping the dream alive: Cal Grants now available to students on path to citizenship

Undocumented immigrant students living in the California have finally received the opportunity to live the “California dream.” On Oct. 8, Gov. Jerry Brown stood up for his principles signed the California Dream Act.

As a result, illegal immigrants under 18 in California who are on the path to citizenship have won a major victory in the crusade for equal rights. They will be allowed to apply for state-funded Cal grants and other forms of public financial aid for education.

If a university decides to accept students based on their academic and extracurricular achievements, they shouldn’t be denied the right to apply for state-funded financial aid on the basis of their legal standing in our country.

However, there are a list of prerequisites an immigrant student must fill before being eligible. When this bill becomes effective on Jan. 1, 2013, these students must have arrived in California before the age of 16, graduate from a California high school, attended a California high school for at least three years, demonstrate financial need for the student aid and meet the required academic standards.

These prerequisites significantly narrow down student eligibility for financial aid; nevertheless, this law has been a huge victory for immigrant children, as it is the first state law in the country to be passed that allows the use of public funds to assist undocumented students.

Some are concerned that when enacted, this law will be taking public funding away from “fully legal” students.

The Cal Grant system contains $1.4 billion in funds. This law will cost $14.5 million, which means that it could only affect one percent of the Cal Grant funds.

This one percent will allow a projected 2,500 students to attend a public college or university. The only difference between undocumented and fully legal students who are accepted into these public institutions is their legal status.

This bill was the final component in the entire California Dream Act. Brown signed the first portion of the Act in July, which allows undocumented students to be eligible for and receive privately funded scholarships from public universities and community colleges.

This law is needed since state-funded colleges and universities were hesitant to allot scholarship money to immigrant students. Without a law allowing undocumented students to receive scholarship money, these institutions would continue to ignore the financial needs of students.

High-achieving students shouldn’t be punished because their parents or relatives took them or sent them to America. Usually the student has no say in the matter and thus shouldn’t be barred from receiving financial aid if they qualify for it.

These immigrant students may be on the path toward receiving full legal rights, but those who meet the requirements of the law and public college admissions requirements should and will be rewarded with financial aid for those who need it.

This message will give opportunities to students who previously had few, allowing them to become productive members of society and ultimately improving California. Students who can capitalize on this remarkable opportunity will have a chance to eventually make their way into the workforce, which they wouldn’t have been able to do had they been treated as second-class citizens by the Cal Grant program.