Unauthorized Alien Students: Issues and "DREAM Act" Legislation

Publication Date: January 2007

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Education; Population and demographics

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Abstract:

Illegal immigration and the unauthorized alien population in the United States are key issues in the current debate over immigration reform. One group of unauthorized aliens that is of particular interest to Congress is composed of students who were brought to the United States as children by their parents or other adults. Unauthorized aliens in the United States are able to receive free public education through high school. Obtaining higher education is more difficult for several reasons. Among them, a provision enacted in 1996 prohibits states from granting unauthorized aliens certain postsecondary educational benefits on the basis of state residence, unless equal benefits are made available to all U.S. citizens. This prohibition is commonly understood to apply to the granting of "in-state" residency status for tuition purposes. Unauthorized alien students also are not eligible for federal student financial aid. More broadly, as unauthorized aliens, they are not legally allowed to work in the United States and are subject to being removed from the country.

Multiple bills have been introduced in recent Congresses to address the unauthorized student population by taking the general approach of repealing the 1996 provision and enabling some unauthorized alien students to become U.S. legal permanent residents (LPRs) through an immigration procedure known as cancellation of removal. These bills are commonly referred to as the DREAM Act. While there are other options for addressing the unauthorized student population, this report deals exclusively with the DREAM Act approach in light of the widespread congressional interest in this approach. Two similar DREAM Act bills were introduced in the 109th Congress (S. 2075 and H.R. 5131). These bills would have repealed the 1996 provision and enabled eligible unauthorized students to adjust to LPR status through a two-stage process. Aliens granted cancellation of removal under the bills would have been adjusted initially to conditional permanent resident status. Such conditional status would have been valid for six years and would have been subject to termination. To have the condition removed and become full-fledged LPRs, the aliens would have had to meet additional requirements.

While neither S. 2075 or H.R. 5131 saw any action, S. 2075 was incorporated into the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006 (S. 2611), which passed the Senate in May 2006. The 110th Congress may consider DREAM Act legislation, whether as a free-standing bill or part of a larger immigration reform measure.

Those who favor repealing the 1996 provision and granting LPR status to unauthorized alien students argue that many of these students were brought into the United States at a very young age and should not be held responsible for the decision to enter the country illegally. Those who oppose making these students eligible for in-state tuition or legal status emphasize that they and their families are in the United States illegally and should be removed from the country, not granted benefits.

This report will be updated as legislative developments occur.