Unity on the NY Dream Act

The New York Legislature is about to approve the budget, and as things stand, the state’s Dream Act bill will be shelved once again. Hispanic lawmakers—who represent many Dreamers—can prevent this if they unite and make it clear to Senate leaders and Gov. Andrew Cuomo that they will vote “NO” on the budget package unless it includes the Dream Act.

Lawmakers have had this bill, which attempts to do what other states have done and give eligible undocumented students access to state financial aid for college, for several years. During the current session, the Assembly finally drafted a balanced version that was recently approved, along with $25 million to pay for it.

The Senate, controlled by Republicans and Independent Democrats, refuses to include this bill in the budget, despite its economic benefits in the long term. Hispanic senators support the bill, which makes sense, since it’s a priority for their constituents. They have sent messages to Cuomo and attended Dream Act demonstrations.

But their actions haven’t yielded results. Senate leaders and Cuomo clearly don’t understand the importance of this law. However, when it’s convenient for them, they talk about the contributions immigrants make, their concern about low high school and college graduation rates, and how important educating minorities is to the state’s economic well-being.

Now, it’s time to show that this bill is extremely important. The course of action in Albany will affect the future of 200,000 immigrant students who graduated from our public schools to start or continue their college studies. This major budget, with essential laws like a minimum wage increase, must also include the Dream Act. Hispanic lawmakers and others who believe in providing equal education opportunities must reject the budget proposal unless the Dream Act is in it.