Scholarship applications from Ohio 'Dreamers' wanted as deadline nears
A national nonprofit is calling for more applicants from Ohio for its college scholarship program, providing tuition for individuals who were brought to the U.S. as children by undocumented parents or guardians.
Such individuals who arrived before 2012 are legally allowed to live and work in the U.S. under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy. However, they are ineligible for federal aid and in-state tuition in many states, including Ohio.
To fill that gap, the nonprofit TheDream.US is accepting applications for its Opportunity Scholarship from DACA recipients — so-called “Dreamers” — through Tuesday.
“We encourage all eligible immigrant youth to apply before the upcoming application deadlines at the end of January. … During a time of uncertainty for many Dreamers, we will remain steadfast in our support of undocumented youth and their futures,” said Gaby Pacheco, the organization’s director of advocacy, communications, and development.
The Opportunity Scholarship provides up to $80,000 over four years to cover tuition, fees and on-campus housing and meals for a bachelor’s degree at five partner schools: Christian Brothers University in Tennessee; Delaware State University; Dominican University in Illinois; Eastern Connecticut State University; or Trinity Washington University in Washington, D.C.
Michael Earls, a spokesperson for TheDream.US, said the organization is looking for more applicants from Ohio because relatively few have applied so far.
In Ohio, Dreamers are ineligible for in-state tuition at public universities. At Ohio State University, for example, they must apply as international students.
“We quickly realized there was a void for students who, even though they’d grown up in this country and graduated from our high schools, they lived in states where they didn’t get financial aid like their peers were getting,” Pacheco told The Dispatch.
Across the U.S., more than 712,000 Dreamers have taken advantage of DACA since President Barack Obama announced the policy in 2012. Ninety-three percent of DACA-eligible adults were actively employed in 2017, and they contributed more than $4 billion in federal, state and local taxes that year, according to a study by the nonprofit New American Economy.
Proponents argue that DACA benefits individuals who grew up in America and know no other home.
But critics argue that DACA makes the U.S. a more attractive destination for undocumented immigrants. President Donald Trump attempted to end the program in 2017, but it was reinstated as legal battles continued over the policy’s constitutionality.
Dreamers must renew their status every two years, and many remain anxious they could be deported if lawmakers decide to end the program. Congress failed to pass an immigration and border security bill last year that would have created a pathway to permanent legal status for Dreamers.
According to its website, TheDream.US is the largest private scholarship program for Dreamers, having provided more than 6,500 college scholarships to people attending more than 70 schools in 19 states and Washington, D.C.
Peter Gill covers immigration and new American communities for The Dispatch in partnership with Report for America. You can support work like his with a tax-deductible donation to Report for America here: bit.ly/3fNsGaZ.
pgill@dispatch.com
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Scholarship applications from Ohio 'Dreamers' wanted as deadline nears
