California Dream Act Dies without Signature from Governor Schwarzenegger

November 12, 2010

October 2010 — The California DREAM Act, a follow-on measure intended to expand assistance for illegal aliens from resident tuition benefits to include direct financial aid, has died after the Governor refused to sign the measure into law.California Senate Bill 1460 and Assembly Bill 1413 were introduced by State Senator Cedillo and Assemblyman Fuentes during the 2009-2010 term. The bills have been referred to collectively as the California DREAM Act and were approved by the legislature on August 31, 2010. The Califonia DREAM Act would have diverted financial aid away from legal California residents to illegal aliens, by providing them with over $38 million in financial assistance to attend California colleges and universities.

Gov. Schwarzenegger refused to sign the 2010 Dream Act into law, causing the legislation expired automatically on September 30, 2010. In his letter to the public the Governor stated, “Unfortunately, given the precarious fiscal situation that the state faces, it would not be practical to adopt a new policy that could limit the financial aid available to students that are in California legally, in order to provide that benefit to those students who are not.”

Since 2002 illegal aliens have already received in-state tuition benefits at California’s public universities estimated at $88 million. IRLI believes both the 2002 and 2010 legislation conflict with Title 8 of the United States Code, section 1623, which states,“[a]n alien who is not lawfully present in the United States shall not be eligible on the basis of residence within a State for any post-secondary education benefit unless a citizen or national of the United States is eligible for such a benefit (in no less an amount, duration, and scope) without regard to whether the citizen or national is such a resident.” 8 U.S.C. § 1623 (2010).

Governor Schwarzenegger has vetoed three similar measures in previous terms and will continue to act as a check on the scofflaw legislature and its attackes on the rights and privleges of United States citizens.