Search the Community

ALBANY — The state Assembly on Monday passed its version of the DREAM Act, which provides college financial aid for children of undocumented immigrants. "The Assembly majority recognizes that immigrants are a vital thread in the social and economic fabric of our state," Democratic Speaker Carl Heastie said in a statement released before the chamber began to vote on the measure. "It is fundamentally and economically misguided to deny students who were educated in our state's public school system the tools they need to reach their academic potential and fully contribute to our state's economy." The DREAM Act is touted as a way to help ease the cost of higher education for children of immigrants in New York by eliminating obstacles to obtaining state financial aid for undocumented students. Under the proposal, those students would be eligible for general awards, performance-based awards, or the state's Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) funds if they meet certain criteria — such as having attended an approved in-state high school for two or more years, graduated from such a school and applied to an in-state college or university within five years of receiving their high school diploma. Students who received a qualified state high school equivalency diploma, or were otherwise eligible for in-state tuition at SUNY, CUNY or community colleges would also be eligible. "Today we stand with the DREAMERs, these students, many of whom were brought here through no fault of their own and know no other home than this country, are being denied access to the most basic resources they need to climb the economic ladder," Assemblywoman Carmen De La Rosa said. The measure passed 89-42. Assemblyman Brian Miller, R-Oneida County, was among those who opposed the bill. "The state's tax burden is due to the fact that New York has become the land of the handout," Miller said in a statement. "I cannot and will not accept this practice and neither should our residents." Ballston Republican member Mary Beth Walsh, another no vote on the bill, said Democrats had "yet again chosen to prioritize the needs of illegal immigrants over legal residents." While the Democrat-dominated Assembly has passed the measure regularly, it has only been voted on once in the Republican-controlled state Senate, where it was defeated in 2014 by two votes. Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued a statement late Monday praising the Assembly Democrats and urging the Senate to also approve the bill. "While Washington takes aim at immigration and holds DACA recipients hostage, it is more important than ever that New York protects our immigrants and upholds the values embodied by the Lady in Our Harbor," Cuomo said. Source: https://www.timesunion.com/7day-state/article/State-Assembly-passes-DREAM-Act-12553369.php