State Senate Needs to Step Up for the DREAM Act

Last week the state Assembly passed the DREAM Act, a bill that would make sure that young people like me can go to college and pursue their dreams. This is great news, but it’s not the first time that DREAM has passed the Assembly, so the big question for me and other DREAMers is: will the Republican-controlled Senate finally stand up for us and stand on the right side of history?

The DREAM Act would open up the path to higher education for undocumented immigrant students like me by letting us apply for the state’s Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) and get financial aid for college—provided we meet the rest of the TAP requirements, such as keeping good grades.

I’m a high school sophomore at Brentwood High School on Long Island. Without DREAM, I will not be able to afford a college education.  DREAM passing would make a huge difference to me, because I know that a better life depends on a better education. The DREAM Act would let me keep going with that education so that I can fulfill my dream of becoming a nurse and taking care of my community.

When my parents brought us here from Honduras, they did it because they wanted a better life for us all. Now, my parents work hard—my mother in a factory, my father in restaurants—and they want what every parent wants for their children: a chance to have more opportunities than they had.

The Assembly, under the leadership of Speaker Carl Heastie and Assemblyman Francisco Moya, has taken the first step this legislative session towards making my family’s dream a reality. DREAMers are grateful for their leadership in passing bill that would be life changing for us and our families.

Now we need the state Senate to follow the Assembly’s lead. 

We have heard various arguments against DREAM; none of them are convincing.

Last week, on the Assembly floor, several Republican Assemblymembers argued that the DREAMers would be taking money away from other New York students. But this is false. Any other New York student who meets the requirements for TAP, including maintaining good grades and earning a family income below a certain level, can recieve this benefit.

Other opponents have argued that DREAM is a drain of resources, but the facts tell a different story. A 2014 state Comptroller report found that it would bring significant benefits to our economy, by increasing our skilled workforce and expanding the state’s tax base. A similar analysis of the federal DREAM Act tells the same story: tapping the potential of young people like me can bring in billions of dollars to our state economy.

What I’ve learned in school shows me that history sides against those who stand in the way of inclusion and human rights. It was true for women’s rights, it was true in the fight against segregation, and it will be true in the struggle for an equal education for students like me.

Americans will not forget who was on the wrong side of this fight. And, one day, when undocumented students like me win a path to citizenship and the right to vote, neither will we.

The state Senate needs to pass the bill and allow students like me, hungry to learn, to continue studying so we can realize our dreams.

Claritza Suarez is a sophomore at Brentwood High School and a member of Make the Road New York’s Youth Power Project.