State Bill Would Help Undocumented Immigrant Students

Wednesday, February 11, 2009
State Bill Would Help Undocumented Immigrant Students

A bill that will expand the eligibility for state need grants to undocumented students will be discussed in a public hearing before the House Committee on Higher Education today. Introduced in January, HB 1706 would expand the definition of students who are residents thereby expanding the state need grant program to help additional college students.

Last Friday, over 700 Latinos from around Washington State converged on the Capitol in Olympia to call for financial aid for undocumented students. One of the organizers of the capitol event, Ricardo Sanchez of Latino/a Education Achievement Project (LEAP), said in an interview with the Bellingham Herald:


“Most of the kids who are headed to college, they came here with their families when they were 2 or 3 years of age. Their parents came here to work. They’ve grown up in our system,” he said. “Now that they’ve proven themselves academically, what sense does it make to waste all of that?”
According to the AP, one of the bill’s cosponsors, State Representative Dave Quall echoed concerns saying that because many of these students are brought to the United States by their parents at a young age and are raised in the American education system, it wouldn't be right to deny aid to them.

The public hearing before the House Committee on Higher Education will take place 1:30 PM. The State Senate had a first reading yesterday on the their companion bill SB 5959.
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Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Barack Obama

FDR's leadership helped save American Families from their suffering which was a direct
result of the devastating depression caused by Hoover's pandering to speculators...

There are some who pontificate about the "salvation of capitalism...." but this phrase has
much in common with "the war on terror..."

Capitalism is a label which poorly characterizes the socioeconomic system in America, now or then. And it has relatively little in common with the specific programs instituted under FDR
Terrorism is a tactic, and does not describe why we enforce the corporate occupation of Iraq,
nor does it provide any rational basis for our invasion of a non-agressive soverign nation.

I hope that Obama can relieve the suffering of American workers.I certainly do not expect him fundamentally address the forces which allow injustice and inequity to endure and survive. But if his incremental steps are as useful as FDR's fortunate stumblings, I'ill consider this a blessing.