June 2005

The Shattering of a Dream

On May 17^th excitement was running high in ISAIAH leaders and coalition partners working on the passage of the MN Dream Act.  After polling the legislative members of the Higher Education conference committee, it appeared all 10 members were in support of including the MN Dream Act in the final version of the Higher Education Omnibus bill.  It looked like the MN Dream Act was headed for the Governor’s desk.

But in a surprise move late that evening, Governor Pawlenty shattered our dreams and the dreams of Minnesota immigrant students wanting to attend college.  The Governor called the bill’s authors and the committee chair into his office.  He made it clear that if the MN Dream Act was included he would veto the Higher Education Omnibus bill which would mean no increased funding for the University and another year of double digit tuition increases.

With no time left in the legislative calendar to take this issue back to the floors of the House and Senate, Sen. Pappas withdrew the MN Dream Act from consideration in the bill.  She stated that she did not want to force her fellow committee members to vote against a provision they actually supported.  Rep. Cox vowed to bring the bill back next year. 

Under current law, immigrant students who wish to attend college are charged the non-resident tuition rate, three times the resident rate.  This makes higher education an impossible dream for most immigrant students. The MN Dream Act would have permitted immigrants who attended and graduated from Minnesota high schools to pay in-state tuition rates at Minnesota’s public colleges and universities. 

The MN Dream Act was introduced in the House and in the Senate with strong bi-partisan support.  In the House, the bill had nine Republican co-authors including chief author Rep. Ray Cox and nine Democrat co-authors.  In the Senate, the bill’s chief author was Democrat Sen. Sandy Pappas and was co-authored by four Republican senators.

Profiled below are the stories of three young immigrants and their shattered dreams. 

Dream requires leaving family and moving to a new country:  Dora 

Dora has lived in the U.S. since she was nine years old.  Her parents came to the U.S. fleeing death threats in Columbia but the family is not eligible for asylum.  Dora graduated with honors from Humboldt High School three years ago.  Her dream is to get a degree in international business.  She was admitted to St. Thomas University and encouraged to apply for the Latino Leadership scholarship there, which would pay her entire cost of tuition.  However, when she could not provide a social security number, her admission was revoked.  The scholarship was not awarded that year. 

With the support of her parents, Dora decided to look for other ways to pursue her education.  Due to her excellent academic record, she was able to get a student visa to go to college in Canada.  She left last fall to study there.  The decision to leave her family has been difficult for her and for her family.  However, she feels she has made the right choice and plans to stay in Canada after she graduates.  A Canadian immigration attorney has informed her that she has an excellent chance of being granted permanent residency in Canada.

Part time student dreams of being full time:  Ivan

When he was three, Ivan came to the U.S. from Mexico with his parents and his older brother.  They immigrated because his parents were not able to find work that would support the family.  Ivan is more comfortable speaking English than he is Spanish; he has no memories of Mexico.  Ivan graduated this year from Southwest High School.  He applied for and received an academic merit grant from a local foundation that would pay $2000 a year toward a four-year degree as long as he studied full-time.  When Ivan informed the foundation that the only school he could afford to attend full-time with the help of the scholarship was a local two-year community college, the foundation rescinded the grant.  He asked them to reconsider and they decided to award him $1000 a year for two years. 

While Ivan is thankful for the grant money, he is also disappointed.  He had hoped to use the original grant amount to get his Associate Degree.  He is attending classes as he is able to afford them – he works in a retail store as an assistant manager.  It is unlikely he’ll achieve his dream of being an attorney as a part time student.

A dream delayed is a dream denied:  Jackie

Jackie, who gave testimony at ISAIAH’s Faith in Democracy event, graduated two years ago from Johnson High School.  She graduated with academic honors and was active in many, many extra-curricular activities.  She told us at Faith in Democracy that her dream was to be a forensic psychologist. 

After graduation, Jackie decided that she would take at least one class per semester at the community college near her home.  She wanted to get her general requirements taken care of and planned to attend college full time if the MN Dream act were passed.   Jackie did take classes for the first year and a half; she could not take more because she was working and contributed much of her income to household expenses. 

Last winter, in what came as a sudden blow to Jackie’s family, Immigration and Customs Enforcement decided not to renew her father’s Temporary Protected Status and, instead, deported him back to El Salvador where he is threatened with death for having served in the military.  Jackie’s income is needed now more than ever.  She works two full-time jobs – one as a home health aide and one as an office receptionist.  When asked about her dream to be a forensic psychologist, she says, “Oh, well, it was just a silly dream.”