The New York state Legislature approved a measure Wednesday known as the Dream Act that would offer college aid for children of undocumented immigrants. But lawmakers stopped short of acting on a measure to offer driver’s licenses to immigrants in New York without documentation.
Democratic Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, at an announcement packed with young immigrants seeking to go to college, speaking just before the vote, celebrated the measure’s expected success.
“Today we will pass the Dream Act for the ninth and final time,” Heastie said as the crowd cheered.
Unlike in past years, when Republicans in the State Senate blocked the bill, Democrats who now lead that chamber also approved the measure, and Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo is also a supporter.
Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz was an active member of the "Dreamer" movement before she was elected to the state Assembly last fall.
Cruz came to the U.S. with her mother when she was a child, to escape the drug wars in Columbia. She overstayed her visa and was undocumented for 13 years, until she became a citizen when she married her high school boyfriend. She became a labor and immigration lawyer. She says the law is one step towards eliminating the discrimination that undocumented immigrants face.
“Our parents have contributed millions of dollars into the New York state economy, and we have contributed millions of dollars into the New York state economy,” Cruz said. “Yet we are not seen as human because we don’t have a piece of paper. That’s not fair.”
The Dream Act was renamed the Jose Peralta New York State Dream Act, after the late Senator who died suddenly of complications from acute leukemia at the age of 47 last November. Peralta, a Democrat from Queens, was a tireless backer of the Dream Act. He even joined the now-defunct Independent Democratic Conference in hopes of advancing the measure in the Senate. But that proved his political undoing, and he lost his seat in a primary last September.
His wife, Evelyn Peralta, attended the announcement, and witnessed the vote, along with her children. She says the issue was a “labor of love” for her late husband.
“Today my husband’s dreams become our reality,” Peralta said. “The spirit of my husband is alive in this room today.”
GOP members in both houses voted against the bill.
Senator Robert Ortt, a Republican who represents a district in the Buffalo-Niagara Falls region, says the $27 million in college aid to undocumented immigrants is not fair to middle-class New York residents who are struggling with college costs. He says many of his constituents hold large student loan debts.
“They not only have to struggle to back their loans or pay that tuition,” Ortt said. “But they also know that their dollars are going to pay for illegal immigrants. When we can take care of every American citizen who is here legally and who has played by the rules, and paid into the system, then we can talk about those who are not.”
The Senate also voted to also raise the family income eligibility for New York residents for the state’s Tuition Assistance Program from $80,000 to $95,000 a year.
The Assembly did not take up the measure. Assembly Speaker Heastie says it will be discussed as part of the budget.
Immigrants’ rights groups are also seeking access to drivers’ licenses for undocumented immigrants. The sponsor of the Dream Act in the Assembly, Carmen De La Rosa, says the measure is more than just a “box” checked off the agenda, and more needs to be done.
“This is about an immigrant community in New York State that needs protections," De La Rosa said. “We must make sure that a driver’s license bill is passed."
That bill was not voted on Wednesday. Speaker Heastie says his Democratic members plan to discuss the issue soon.
