California should complete the DREAM Act

Students who have grown up in California and done well in our schools should have every opportunity to excel in our colleges  even if they're the children of undocumented immigrants.Gov. Jerry Brown did the right thing last month by signing Assembly Bill 130, the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act  the DREAM Act. AB 130 makes qualified students eligible to apply for private scholarships.The California Legislature also should pass AB 131, which would make these students eligible to apply for public financial aid. The bill was approved in the Assembly by 50 Democrats and opposed by 27 Republicans. It awaits hearings in the state Senate.Brown has said he also would sign AB 131.

About 25,000 undocumented students graduate from California high school each year. The legislative analysis estimates 3,600 of them could enroll in the California State University system and another 500 could enroll in the University of California system. If half of those students get financial aid, it would cost the state about $12 million starting in 2013-14.AB 131 also would provide waivers for community college fees. It is estimated 36,000 students attended community college in 2009-10. If half of them received the waivers, it would cost state about $7 million.

For a state that has been wrestling with budget shortfalls for years, that may seem like an expensive proposition. However, the prospect of having more professionals making money and paying taxes would enrich California's economy in the long run.The state should enact serious pension reforms to pay for programs like this.Illinois enacted a DREAM Act similar to AB 130 last week and 13 states, including California, now allow illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition. South Carolina and Georgia bar illegal immigrants from attending some state colleges.

Perhaps if more states pass their own versions of the DREAM Act, Congress will finally do so. A federal DREAM Act has been introduced each year for the past 10 years.The Desert Sun endorsed the national DREAM Act in December. At that time, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that in 10 years, the act would reduce the federal deficit by $1.4 billion.

UCLA's North American Integration and Development Center sees even greater potential, estimating that if 825,000 students take advantage of the DREAM Act, their 40-year work lives would generate $1.4 trillion of income.The national act also would provide a path to citizenship to immigrants who succeed in college and those who serve in the military. We see this as a small step toward solving the nation's intractable immigration challenge.

The state can't grant citizenship, but even without that element, the DREAM Act is the right thing to do. American universities have a rich tradition of international exchanges. Even if immigrants go back to the countries from which their parents took them, which is unlikely, the investment in education is worthwhile.The young people that some cast off as “illegals” can become proud and productive Americans. California can bolster its reputation as a progressive leader by helping make that happen.