Dallas Morning News (Texas)
By Dianne Solis
June 2, 2015
A
focused defense saved a 14-year-old Texas policy to provide lower
tuition for undocumented students, said Dallas leaders from the new
Latino Center for Leadership Development.
Now,
comes an offense: Center leaders want to boost the number of immigrant
students who use in-state tuition at colleges and universities.
“Our
next step is to make sure that students are taking advantage of
in-state tuition,” said Ramiro Luna, a 31-year-old Mexican immigrant who
benefited from two of the
few programs offered in recent years to help those who in the U.S.
unlawfully.
Luna
received a temporary work permit and reprieve from deportation, under a
2012 initiative by the Obama administration called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA. He attends the University of North Texas at Dallas with
in-state tuition. Luna is the director of community affairs at the
Latino advocacy center.
The
defense of in-state tuition is one of the first initiatives of the
policy center, which recently opened doors in Oak Cliff as we reported
here.
In
2001, Texas was the first state in the nation to offer in-state tuition
to immigrant students in the U.S. without legal authorization. In
April, the measure was the
target of a marathon hearing in Austin that lasted past midnight as
some Republican legislators argued the law had magnet force in
propelling immigrants to come unlawfully across the Rio Grande.
Eventually, a bill to repeal the law by state Sen. Donna Campbell,
R-New Braunfels, failed in the session that ended this week.
Luna
testified in Austin around midnight against Campbell’s measure. When
the session ended at about 1 a.m., 176 persons had spoken. Only a
handful were in favor of Campbell’s
measure.
“This was the first strategic initiative that we organized,” Luna said.
The
advocacy center sent people to Austin to lobby several times. The law
allows in-state tuition for unauthorized students who have lived in
Texas for at least three
years and pledge to apply for legal status as soon as they can under
federal law. About 20 states now have similar laws, according to the
National Conference of State Legislatures.
Maria
García, another Mexican immigrant, was among those who traveled to
Austin. “We saw the real faces of elected officials and what they are
willing to do to DREAMERS,”
she said, using the word some young immigrants call those pushing for
an overhaul of immigration laws.
More
lobbying is ahead, the 21-year-old García said, after a news conference
at Dallas City Hall. She’s now a legal permanent resident and eligible
for citizenship in
2017. That’s when she’ll step up her political game, she said.
“I look forward to voting the most. The larger difference will be made in voting.”
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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