As part of the solution for this issue there is a federal legislation; The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act “DREAM Act" (NILC). For the last six years, there have been many efforts to pass this federal legislation. The latest version of the DREAM Act was introduced in the Senate on November 30, 2010 by Richard Durbin (D-IL). On December 6, 2010, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) filed a cloture motion on the motion to proceed to the bill presented in the Senate (NILC). This bill would provide certain illegal immigrant students who graduate from US high schools that are of good moral character, arrived in the US before or when they were 15 years old and no older than 30, and have been in the country continuously for at least five years prior to the bill's enactment, the opportunity to earn conditional permanent residency, and provide in-state tuition without regard to immigration status. The students would obtain temporary residency for a six year period. Within the six year period, a qualified student must attend college, and earn a two year degree, or serve in the military for two years in order to earn citizenship after the six year period. If student does not complete with either his/her college requirement or military service requirement, temporary residency will be taken away and student will be subject to deportation.
Unfortunately, without this bill, due to their immigration status thousands of students have to confront the high costs of Out of State Tuition from Colleges and Universities because they are taken as international students and have to pay higher rates for tuition. Also, they can’t get help from the government, in financial aid. According to Department of Higher Education website, in-state tuition and required fees this year for undergraduates at the University of Connecticut add up to $8,362, compared with $25,486 for out of state. Costs vary slightly among state university schools and Community Colleges. Connecticut Community Colleges 2010-11 in-state tuition and fees are $3,406 and $10,178 for out of state (Connecticut). In