Grassley has co-sponsored legislation to let young immigrants with undocumented immigration status earn permanent resident status in the United States by graduating from high school and, in turn, become eligible for in-state tuition and other higher education benefits that may be offered by Iowa and other states.
Grassley announced his endorsement of the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, or DREAM, at the Latinos Unidos Hispanic Independence Day Celebration in Des Moines this morning. Hispanic Heritage Month begins today.
"This initiative helps kids who had nothing to do with the actions of their parents when it comes to their immigration and naturalization. The young people are in the United States and graduating from our high schools. The best thing for their futures and for the well-being of communities across the country is to give them access to educational opportunities. States will have new opportunities to do so, at their own discretion, with the pilot program created by the DREAM Act," Grassley said.
The DREAM Act would give states the authority to determine who would qualify for in-state tuition. It gives the U.S. attorney general authority to cancel deportation orders and allows alien children to earn lawful permanent resident status in the United States by graduating from high school. The alien must be 21 years or younger, have been in the country for five years, be of good moral character, and not be inadmissible or deportable under the criminal or security grounds of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The bill, S.1291, was introduced in August by Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah. He is the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Grassley is also a senior member of this committee, which is responsible for immigration policy.
Nationwide, about 50,000 undocumented children graduate from U.S. high schools each year. Undocumented children are entitled to a high school education under a 1982 Supreme Court ruling which struck down a Texas statute requiring public schools to charge undocumented children a non-resident rate to attend. Iowa's Hispanic population grew 150 percent during the 1990s and now comprises 2.8 percent of the state's total population. More than 30 million Americans claim Hispanic origin.