Governor Jay Inslee of Washington State yesterday signed legislation which will offer college financial aid to students brought into the United States illegally by their parents. California, Illinois, Texas, and New Mexico have passed similar legislations. The measure represents a shift in the position of State Senate Republicans: last year, the GOP-controlled Senate blocked a similar measure,called the Dream Act of Washington State, but earlier this month the Senate passed its own version of the bill, which the the governor, a Democrat, signed.
Governor Jay Inslee of Washington State yesterday signed legislation which will offer college financial aid to students brought into the United States illegally by their parents. California, Illinois, Texas, and New Mexico have passed similar legislations.
“This bill ensures that the young men and women we’ve invested in at our high schools and who aspire to become productive American citizens will now have fair access to the financial support they need,” Inslee said in a statement following the bill’s passage last week.
The Chicago Tribune reports that the legislation, called the Dream Act of Washington State, signaled a shift within Washington’s Republican Party, whose members halted the passage of a similar legislation last year. In January, Republicans insisted that they would not pass the legislation, but then introduced a Republican version of the bill in the Republican-led State Senate. The proposed legislation pledged $5 million to help fund the measure. About 800 to 1,200 students will be eligible for financial aid under the new law.
David Nice, a political science professor at Washington State University, ays that the influx of Hispanics into Washington State led Republican lawmakers to change their position on the proposed measure.
“Republicans are influenced by the continued growth of the Hispanic population, particularly in Republican areas of the state,” Nice said.
Hispanics made up 11.2 percent of Washington State’s population in 2010, up from 4.4 percent in 1990, according to U.S. Census figures. Some analysts credit the shift in Republican position to lobbying efforts that featured stories of how the legislation, if passed, would affect undocumented students.
“There aren’t many (Washington State) Republicans who have to worry about a competing Latino vote right now,” said Luis Fraga, a University of Washington political science professor. “It’s more likely that their consciences were tapped by the humanity of the stories that they heard from the students.”
Undocumented students eligible under the new legislation will face higher standards to qualify for financial aid. According to Jim West, a residency specialist at the Washington Student Achievement Council, which administers the financial aid, undocumented students will need to have attended at least three years of high-school in Washington State and have earned a high school diploma or equivalent in the state. U.S. citizens must live in Washington State for one year before qualifying for state financial aid. Since 2003, Washington State has already granted in-state tuition to qualified undocumented immigrants.
And natural born Americans can just go suck lemons. RIGHT???
We have a problem folks. All those elections and referendums. How is that working out for us?
What’s next? What will we do about this and so many outrages and atrocities committed by these false governments? Do Americans put up with all this crap and do nothing to stop it? I have to wonder.
“…… legislation which will offer college financial aid to students brought into the United States illegally by their parents. California, Illinois, Texas, and New Mexico have passed similar legislations.”
Naturally. We’re ALWAYS first on the list when it comes to any sorry @ss communist legislation.
“It’s more likely that their consciences were tapped by the humanity of the stories that they heard from the students.”
WHAT F%&KING CONSCIENCES??? IS THIS A F%&KING JOKE?????