SEATTLE — A bill introduced in the Washington state Legislature on Tuesday would allow young immigrants who have no legal status in the country to apply for state financial aid for college.
The measure aims to dovetail with the Obama administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which provides young immigrants who arrived in the United States as children a legal way to live in the country on renewable two-year stays, but it would also make students who don’t apply for that program eligible.
To be eligible for the federal program, immigrants must prove they arrived in the U.S. before they turned 16, must be 30 or younger, must have been living in the country at least five years, and must be in school, have graduated or served in the military. They cannot have been convicted of certain crimes or otherwise pose a safety threat.
People who qualify for the deferred removal program can’t apply for federal college financial aid.
Senate Minority Leader Sen. Ed Murray’s bill, dubbed the Washington Dream Act, would make these immigrants eligible for the State Need Grant. They already qualify for in-state tuition.
The measure’s highest hurdle is getting the approval of Senate leader Rodney Tom and his Republican colleagues. A spokesman for the Senate coalition couldn’t immediately say what leadership thought of the bill.
In 2003, Tom was one of several Republicans in the House of Representatives who voted to make students who entered the country illegally eligible for in-state tuition.
