Supporters of DREAM Act affirmed their victory in Maryland with 59 percent of vote that would allow undocumented immigrants to attend public universities and pay in-state tuition. Maryland is one of 11 states (along with California, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin) to have passed some version of DREAM Act. The law won approval last year from Governor O’Malley and the Democrat-controlled General Assembly. However, the issue landed on the ballot after critics collected enough petition signatures to force a referendum on whether to uphold the statute or strike it down. Visibly Americans are divided into two parts on this Act. Supporters of Dream Act had 75 staff and volunteers in Las Vegas working phone banks and knocking on doors across the city, reminding people of their assigned polling places and helping with logistics, including rides. Twenty others were working similarly in the Reno area. From their effort it is clear how important this act is for the people of that state. They encouraged every voter to head to the polls and show their support. When Republican candidate Mitt Romney was against The DREAM Act, President Obama clearly stated his support to it. So Dream Act supporters made sure everyone vote for Obama's re-election to secure the fate of this act.
At the University of Maryland in
College Park, in-state tuition is $7,175 a year. For out-of-state students, it
is $25,554. For young kids who grew here and went to school here, the high
tuition was a great barrier to their pursuit of higher education and college degrees. DREAM Act is the opportunity to fulfill their dreams for higher studies. Supporters
are saying everyone should get equal opportunities where opponents are saying
this is not fair as they came here illegally.
To
qualify for in-state tuition, students have to have been brought to the United
States as children, have attended at least three years of high school in
Maryland, and come from families that have filed state tax returns, among other
requirements.
To read more follow
these links:
Edited by Rasha Nusrat 11/09/12
Edited by Anna Diarra 11/10/12
The requirement to have filed state tax returns is a good one; since they paid their taxes they should get the benefits of in-state tuition...
ReplyDeleteActually, this is, exactly, about the Maryland Dream Act to have benefits from both sides. The state of Maryland would like to provide to undocumented immigrants education, as well as citizenship, and also to be benefited from them by obliging them to pay state and federal taxes. Immigrants will live period of the time in the Maryland because one of the Dream Act terms says that immigrants need to spend at least three years in a high school and continue their education in a college.
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