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Living the DREAM

It?s graduation season, and most high school seniors are planning fun summers with their classmates and getting ready to start college in the Fall. But for valedictorian, Arthur Mkoyan, such celebratory plans may come to a halt ten days after graduation?the day Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has scheduled his and his family?s deportation, according to this article BoardBuzz found via CNN.com. Mkoyan came to the U.S. with his parents in 1995 and has since achieved a grade-point average above a 4.0 through taking Advanced Placement classes and has been accepted to a California state university to study medicine in the fall. He is one of 65,000 students annually who have been raised in the U.S. and graduated from U.S. high schools, but who because of their undocumented status are denied the same access to higher education as their peers. The bipartisan Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act is designed to help students like Mkoyan have better access to higher education and become legal permanent residents. If the DREAM Act were in place, Mkoyan and other undocumented students graduating high school who have been in the U.S. for at least five years and were brought here when they were 15 years old or younger would be eligible for a six year conditional legal residency during which they are expected to complete a 2-year degree, 2 years toward a 4-year degree, or 2 years of military service. If they complete the requirements of the six year conditional period and demonstrate good moral character, they will be granted permanent residency. NSBA supports the enactment of the DREAM Act to give students like Mkoyan the educational opportunities they deserve. It was first introduced in 2001, and has continued to grow, passing the Senate Judiciary Committee twice and passing the full Senate in 2006 as part of comprehensive immigration legislation, though not passing in 2007. This year, there is minor legislative activity regarding the DREAM Act, but it is unlikely to see further progress until 2009. Students like Mkoyan currently have little resources available to obtain higher education in the U.S. ? they are often ineligible for in-state tuition and for state and federal loans, as well as unable to work legally. In addition to their academic struggles, these students constantly face the possibility of deportation. In an update on Mkoyan?s struggle, CNN.com also reported that Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, has introduced a private bill to allow the family to stay in the U.S. The bill likely will create only a temporary reprieve, however, since such private immigration bills usually do not pass. Unless the DREAM Act is passed, the potential of students like Mkoyan will continue to be significantly restricted by the undocumented status they inherited from their parents.

Full post as published by BoardBuzz: NSBA's Daily Weblog on June 13, 2008 (boomark / email).