The purpose of the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act (DREAM Act) is to make college accessible and affordable to undocumented students who have been raised in the U.S. and graduate from American high schools. There is a DREAM Act stand-alone bill in both the House and Senate, plus the bill has been included in the recently introduced Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America’s Security and Prosperity Act (CIR ASAP). The DREAM Act helps undocumented students by:
- Repealing a measure that discourages states from providing in-state tuition to their resident undocumented students.
- Providing a pathway to citizenship by giving students conditional legal status for 6 years in the original DREAM Act and 3 years in CIR ASAP. Legal status becomes permanent once the following requirements are met:
- Receive a 2 or 4-year degree from a higher education institution, or must have maintained good academic standing for at least two years while working towards a bachelors degree or higher.
- Serve in the U.S. Military for 2 years.
Within CIR ASAP, in addition to the two above points, a DREAM Act beneficiary could secure permanent legal status after completing 2 years of employment as well.
