Illinois is latest state to pass ‘Dream Act’

Democratic Illinois Governor Pat Quinn this week signed into law a measure that allows illegal immigrants to compete for private scholarships to attend state colleges.

The Illinois Dream Act closely resembles the law passed in California last month, as Illinois joins the handful of states that have bucked the trend of tough anti-illegal immigration laws this year. Lawmakers in California also wanted to allow undocumented students to access publicly funded scholarships, but that part of the initiative hasn't passed.

Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, a Democrat, signed a law allowing in-state tuition to illegal immigrants last month. "These are children who live in Connecticut, contribute to our economy and are part of the fabric of our state. This bill isn't controversial, it's common sense," Malloy said at the signing, according to The Boston Globe. Out-of-state tuition at the University of Connecticut is $25,152; in-state it's $8,256.

Meanwhile this May, Maryland lawmakers extended in-state tuition rates to young illegal immigrants who grew up in the state and graduated from its public high schools. (Qualifying students have to prove their parents pay taxes.)

That law faced a quick backlash: Opponents quickly raised more than the 55,000 signatures necessary to stop it from going into effect until Maryland residents can vote on the matter in 2012.

Thirteen states--California, Connecticut, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin--have passed laws since 2001 to allow in-state tuition for young illegal immigrants who graduated from state high schools. (Oklahoma leaves the decision up to a higher education body.) Supporters argue that since state K-12 public schools are required to give every student an education, regardless of immigration status, it doesn't make sense to prevent the brightest of them from going to college by asking them to pay pricey out-of-state tuition.

The Chronicle of Higher Education writes that a recent study found that states experienced a 31 percent growth in the amount of people attending college after they allowed in-state tuition to illegal immigrants. The researchers argued that allowing the in-state rate doesn't have a negative effect on state revenues because most illegal immigrants would not attend college at all if they had to pay the out-of-state rate.

But opponents of the measures argue that taxpayers shouldn't subsidize the education of people who are not even legally allowed to work once they graduate. Without federal education reform, it's unlikely the state-based efforts will have much of an effect on the group's professional chances, unless they are sponsored by a citizen relative or marry a U.S. citizen to get legal status. A University of Chicago study found that college-educated illegal immigrants often resorted to the same jobs their parents have--working in factories or in the backs of restaurants. A federal DREAM Act that would have offered a path to citizenship for young people who joined the army or attended college failed in the Senate in December.

The move to help illegal immigrants go to college is in sharp contrast with the trend of states passing strict laws designed to push those very people out of their states. Utah, Indiana, Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina all followed Arizona's lead and passed laws expanding local police power to question suspects about their immigration status this year. South Carolina and Georgia explicitly bar illegal immigrants from attending some state colleges altogether.