In what advocates called a history-making moment, California Governor Jerry Brown Oct. 8 signed new legislation granting access to public funds for 41,000 undocumented students pursuing higher education in the state.
The legislation – known as AB131 – is the second half of the California Dream Act, written by California state Assemblyman Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles. Brown July 25 signed into law AB130, the first half of the California Dream Act, which allows undocumented students to apply and receive privately-funded scholarships (I-W, Sept. 29). Asian Americans account for about 40 percent of the undocumented population at California public colleges, including community colleges, CSUs and UCs.
“Going to college is a dream that promises intellectual excitement and creative thinking. The Dream Act benefits us all by giving top students a chance to improve their lives and the lives of all of us,” said Brown as he signed a surfeit of legislation over the weekend.
“We were expecting that we would get support from Governor Brown,” a jubilant Cedillo told India-West shortly after Brown signed the bill. “We are very pleased and very, very happy to see this done,” he said.
Answering to critics who say that funding will be taken away from documented students, Cedillo asserted: “We have created a funding formula which ensures that no student will be denied funds.”
Cal grants, UC grants and other state sources of scholarships are allocated a budget each year by the state legislature based on the number of students who graduate from high school. Many high school students do not apply for state grants, so surplus funds — which could pay for the education of undocumented students — already exist within the budget, said Cedillo.
AB131 would allot about $13 million to undocumented students from a program which received $700 million in funding for the 2009-10 school year, Mario Beltran, senior field representative for Cedillo, told India-West in an earlier story.
“This is about an investment in California’s future, which will keep California competitive,” said Cedillo in a telephone interview from his district office. He urged Congress to pass the federal Dream Act which would create a legalization pathway for undocumented students.
UC Davis pre-med student Mandeep Chahal, who earlier this year got an 11th hour stay of deportation, told India-West she was pleased Brown had signed the Dream Act.
“The passage of AB 131 shows me that California supports all of its students, regardless of citizenship status,” said Chahal, who immigrated to California from India when she was six years old but did not find out that she was undocumented until she was 15.
“It means that I will be able to finish my undergraduate studies at UC Davis. The financial support will make medical school a real possibility for me, and I look forward to my future as a pediatrician,” said Chahal, who recently gave testimony before a Congressional committee about her life as an undocumented child.
Reshma Shamasunder, director of the California Immigration Policy Center, told India-West Brown’s signing of the Dream Act was “a really historical moment.”
“Governor Brown really showed leadership and vision and a recognition of our future as a state,” said Shamasunder. “We are investing in all our residents,” she said.
A lot of people in the Indian American community have never been documented or have lost their status, asserted Shamasunder. “But we’re unwilling to talk about this as our issue,” she said.
Assemblyman Tim Donnelly, R-Claremont, who on his Web site announced plans to place a referendum on the ballot to kill the Dream Act, has called it "disastrous," predicting it will result in an expansion of cities that proclaim themselves "sanctuaries" for illegal immigrants, reported the San Jose Mercury News.
Over the weekend, the governor also vetoed SB 185, which would have allowed California’s colleges to consider race and ethnicity when choosing prospective students. Proposition 209, passed by California state voters in 1996, bars colleges from considering sex, race or ethnicity in admissions decisions.
The legislation – known as AB131 – is the second half of the California Dream Act, written by California state Assemblyman Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles. Brown July 25 signed into law AB130, the first half of the California Dream Act, which allows undocumented students to apply and receive privately-funded scholarships (I-W, Sept. 29). Asian Americans account for about 40 percent of the undocumented population at California public colleges, including community colleges, CSUs and UCs.
“Going to college is a dream that promises intellectual excitement and creative thinking. The Dream Act benefits us all by giving top students a chance to improve their lives and the lives of all of us,” said Brown as he signed a surfeit of legislation over the weekend.
“We were expecting that we would get support from Governor Brown,” a jubilant Cedillo told India-West shortly after Brown signed the bill. “We are very pleased and very, very happy to see this done,” he said.
Answering to critics who say that funding will be taken away from documented students, Cedillo asserted: “We have created a funding formula which ensures that no student will be denied funds.”
Cal grants, UC grants and other state sources of scholarships are allocated a budget each year by the state legislature based on the number of students who graduate from high school. Many high school students do not apply for state grants, so surplus funds — which could pay for the education of undocumented students — already exist within the budget, said Cedillo.
AB131 would allot about $13 million to undocumented students from a program which received $700 million in funding for the 2009-10 school year, Mario Beltran, senior field representative for Cedillo, told India-West in an earlier story.
“This is about an investment in California’s future, which will keep California competitive,” said Cedillo in a telephone interview from his district office. He urged Congress to pass the federal Dream Act which would create a legalization pathway for undocumented students.
UC Davis pre-med student Mandeep Chahal, who earlier this year got an 11th hour stay of deportation, told India-West she was pleased Brown had signed the Dream Act.
“The passage of AB 131 shows me that California supports all of its students, regardless of citizenship status,” said Chahal, who immigrated to California from India when she was six years old but did not find out that she was undocumented until she was 15.
“It means that I will be able to finish my undergraduate studies at UC Davis. The financial support will make medical school a real possibility for me, and I look forward to my future as a pediatrician,” said Chahal, who recently gave testimony before a Congressional committee about her life as an undocumented child.
Reshma Shamasunder, director of the California Immigration Policy Center, told India-West Brown’s signing of the Dream Act was “a really historical moment.”
“Governor Brown really showed leadership and vision and a recognition of our future as a state,” said Shamasunder. “We are investing in all our residents,” she said.
A lot of people in the Indian American community have never been documented or have lost their status, asserted Shamasunder. “But we’re unwilling to talk about this as our issue,” she said.
Assemblyman Tim Donnelly, R-Claremont, who on his Web site announced plans to place a referendum on the ballot to kill the Dream Act, has called it "disastrous," predicting it will result in an expansion of cities that proclaim themselves "sanctuaries" for illegal immigrants, reported the San Jose Mercury News.
Over the weekend, the governor also vetoed SB 185, which would have allowed California’s colleges to consider race and ethnicity when choosing prospective students. Proposition 209, passed by California state voters in 1996, bars colleges from considering sex, race or ethnicity in admissions decisions.
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