Note: please note that this page should (a) link back to the issue overview on this topic, (b) be focused either the local, state, national, or global level, and (c) be neutrally presented, based on facts, and include footnotes for each of the items.  See the Research Guide and Information Sources to assist you. 

Related issue overview: Latino Higher Education and Immigration - Related Factors

Goal Statement   one sentence that further defines the topic

• To increase access to higher education for all Latinos through comprehensive immigration reform. 

Scope of the Problem  factual statements on the extent of the problem in the past, current, or future

• Although immigrants perform tasks through which they participate in and contribute to society (e.g. raising children, working and paying taxes), they are excluded from full membership if they lack full (permanent) legal recognition.^[1]

• "An analysis of college attendance finds that among unauthorized immigrants ages 18-24 who have graduated from high school, half (49%) are in college or have attended college. The comparable figure for U.S.-born residents is 71%."^[2] 

• "In 2003, of the 4.3 million children of unauthorized immigrants, 2.7 million or 63% were born in the United States. In 2008, of the 5.5 million children of unauthorized immigrants, 4 million, or 73% were born in the United States."^[3]

• Of the estimated 11-12 million undocumented immigrants in the United States, 2 million are estimated to be children.^[4] 

• "An estimated 65,000 undocumented students graduate every year from the country's secondary schools, about 37,000 of whom are Latino".^[5]
• "Immigrants from Latin America and the Caribbean are more likely than the general population to live in poverty, making paying for a higher education nearly impossible without financial assistance".^[6]

Past Policy  key legislation and milestones including significant policy and funding shifts, major studies, etc.

• Plyer v. Doe guaranteed undocumented students a free K-12 public school education, but Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 forbids undocumented students from receiving federal aid for postsecondary education.^[7]

• Section 505 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) states that "an alien who is not lawfully present in the United States shall not be eligible for in-state tuition on the basis of residence within a State (or political subdivision) for any postsecondary education benefit unless a citizen or national of the United States is eligible for such a benefit... without regard to whether the citizen or national is such a resident".^[8]

   

Current Policy  summary of current policies in the form of legislation, programs, and funding

• The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors: DREAM Act 2009
• DREAM Act is bipartisan legislation that addresses the situation faced by young people who were brought to the United States years ago as undocumented immigrant children and who have since grown up here, stayed in school, and kept out of trouble. Qualifications are:
• (1) entered the United States at the age of 15 or younger and are under 30 on the date

  of the bill’s enactment;

• (2) they have been continuously present in the country for at least five years prior to the bill’s enactment;
• (3) they have obtained a high school diploma or its equivalent; and (4) they can demonstrate good moral character.^[9] See also^[10]

• Although not at the federal level Arizona Bill - SB 1070 , is a measure which attempts to enforce immigration laws by the state and thereby call for federal action on comprehensive immigration reform.

Key Organizations/Individuals   contacts for public and private organizations and key individuals

• Government
• United States House of Representatives - Luis Gutierrez (D-IL)
• http://luisgutierrez.house.gov 
• Non-Profit - Service Providing
•  
• Non-Profit - Advocacy/Membership/Network
• National Council of La Raza (NCLR)
• http://www.nclr.org/ 
• OneAmerica
• http://www.weareoneamerica.org/
• Foundation
•  
• Other
•  

• Refer to terms as posted in overview page.

Bibliography   web sites, reports, articles, and other reference material 

Footnotes

1. 100. Cecilia Menjivar, "Educational Hopes, Documented Dreams: Guatemalan and Salvadoran Immigrants' Legality and Educational Prospects," The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 620 (2008): 177-192. ▲
2. iv. Jeffrey S. Passels, and D'vera Cohn. A Portrait of Unauthorized Immigrants in the United States. Washington, DC: Pew Hispanic Center, April 2009. ▲
3. Ibid., 7 ▲
4. Chardy, Alfonso. "Undocumented Children Pin Hopes on Revival of DREAM Act." The Miami Herald. http://www.truthout.org/01021006 ▲
5. 94.Edward Drachman,"Access to Higher Education for Undocumented for Students," Journal of Social Justice 18 (2003): 91-100. ▲
6. 94. Stella M. Flores, and Jorge Chapa. "Latino Immigrant Access to Higher Education in a Bipolar Context of Reception," Journal of Hispanic Higher Education 8 (2009): 90-109. ▲
7. Ibid., 91. ▲
8. Ibid., 95. ▲
9. National Immigration Law Center, DREAM Act Basic Information, (March 2009), http://www.nilc.org/immlawpolicy/DREAM/dream-basicinfo-2009-02-19.pdf ▲
10. Roberto G. Gonzalez, "Young Lives on Hold: The College Dreams of Undocumented Students", College Board Advocacy: April 2009 ▲