DREAM Act

The Problem

The undocumented population in the United States includes approximately 3.2 million children and young adults under the age of 24, about one-fourth of the total undocumented population, who were brought to this country by their parents when they were very young, often before school age. Before 1982, various school districts across the country tried to bar undocumented children from attending public schools.

Undocumented students initially received legal access to K-12 public education as a result of the 1982 Supreme Court case Plyler v. Doe. The court held that denying education to children who have no control over their parents’ conduct or their own legal status would impose a lifetime hardship on them. The court also stated that educating children, regardless of their immigration status, is essential for creating individuals who can function in society and contribute to its development.

That court-mandated equal access to education, however, ends when undocumented students graduate from high school. Each year, between 65,000 and 80,000 undocumented students who have lived in the United States for at least five years become high school graduates, joining the ranks of an estimated 1.7 million undocumented young adults between the ages of 18 and 24. Upon graduating, and after extensive public educational [Page 737]investment, higher education becomes an elusive dream for these young adults.

Under current law, undocumented students are not eligible to receive state or federal financial aid. Instead, in most states they are required to pay international student tuition rates, despite having had all their schooling and early education in the same state. International tuition fees to attend a state (public) university can be three to 10 times higher than resident tuition fees of U.S.-born high school graduates. In-state tuition charges have a significant impact on the ability of undocumented students to enroll in a postsecondary institution. A recent study of college attendance found that among all undocumented young adults between the ages of 18 and 24, only half (49 percent) are in or have attended college. The comparable figure for U.S.-born residents is 71 percent.

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