Right to DREAM: Immigration Reform and America’s Future

Foreword

ix FOREWORD So, you have decided to learn more about the DREAM Act. I cannot encourage you enough. The path that led me to support the DREAM Act began in May 2008 when the Arkansas Department of Higher Education advised Arkansas universities that offering in-state tuition to students who did not possess a social security number might violate federal law. Up to that point, if undocumented students graduated from an Arkansas high school and satisfied other academic requirements , they were permitted to enter the university and pay in-state tuition. Now, qualified students who grew up in Arkansas would be forced to pay almost $9,000 more a year in out-of-state tuition. Investigation determined that the University of Arkansas, where I became chancellor in July 2008, had nineteen such undocumented students on campus. All of these students were faced with dropping out, effectively priced out of a college education. By supporting these undocumented students, however, we risked immediately alienating a vocal segment of university stakeholders who felt these students had no place in the university. Rather than pull out the rug from under these students, we decided to seek private funding to pay their increased tuition costs, which we soon secured. Unfortunately, this did not solve the problem for future students graduating from Arkansas high schools, with the grades and the desire to learn but not the social security numbers, who wanted to enter Arkansas colleges and universities as in-state students. This episode awakened me to the often heartbreaking lives of undocumented students. It became increasingly clear to me what an impossible situation these young men and women were in—many of whom had been here most of their lives and spoke English with Arkansas accents . They not only had to pay more for college but had to do so without access to financial aid or legal employment, all but condemning them to an underclass existence. I have also gotten to know several of these nineteen students and many more just like them. They are remarkable kids—intelligent, x FOREWORD hard-working, highly motivated, and seeking the same opportunities to better their lives through higher education as the friends they grew up with. Clearly, they are being punished for the crimes of their parents . Their treatment is also a matter of bad public policy. It is a waste of human capital to ensure them access to K–12 education but so completely frustrate their ability to access higher education, all but ensuring their permanent marginalization. Ultimately, the events of 2008 made me want to learn more about what I could do to help the cause of immigration reform. One of the people I turned to was Bill Schwab, a sociology professor at the University of Arkansas whose research had taken him deep into this subject. Dr. Schwab has been my guide through the changing demographics of our region and has helped educate me on regional and national trends in immigration. He has also helped shape my thinking on the need for immigration reform, particularly the DREAM Act. As the University of Arkansas has striven to create awareness of this issue through various events, Dr. Schwab has been an invaluable resource in dissecting the issues, connecting us with outspoken DREAMers (like the ones profiled here), and providing insight into their lives. Right to DREAM: Immigration Reform and America’s Future is a valuable and important resource in furthering the discussion I unexpectedly joined in 2008. I commend it to you without reservation and in the hopes that it will help shape the thinking of others on this critical issue. Our current immigration policy is clearly broken, and it won’t be fixed until more Americans are aware of the issues and options involved. This book is a great place to start. G. David Gearhart, Chancellor University of Arkansas ...