Dream Act provides path to legal residency

New York's Education Department proposed legislation Friday that would provide a path for undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children to obtain legal residency.

The state's Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, or Dream Act, would allow such children to apply for legal residency and become eligible for U.S. citizenship if they go to college or serve in the military.

The proposed act will be reviewed by the 17-member state Board of Regents when it meets Monday and Tuesday to vote on a package of legislative proposals. The board is expected to approve the proposal and submit it to the state legislature, said Dennis Tompkins, Education Department spokesman.

New York's Dream Act would also allow students who came to the United States at age 15 or younger (at the time the law is enacted) to qualify for conditional residency upon graduating from high school, earning a GED, or getting accepted into college.

Conditional residency gives an immigrant legal status for six years. Conditional residents can work, drive, attend school, and be eligible for some forms of financial aid, such as work study and student loans. They are not allowed to travel abroad for lengthy periods and are not eligible for Pell or other college grants. The act would also disregard a federal law that punishes states that provide in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants.

A federal version of the Dream Act failed to garner support last year in Congress. This year, California passed its Dream Act, which allows undocumented immigrants to apply for state financial aid to attend college. Passage of New York's Dream Act, Tompkins said, would amount to "our support" for the federal act.