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NILC|.. <br />ATIONAL MMIGRATION AW ENTER WWWNILCORG <br />Students with conditional permanent resident status would be able to work, drive, go to school, <br />and otherwise participate normally in day-to-day activities on the same terms as other Americans, <br />except that generally they would not be able to travel abroad for lengthy periods and they would <br />not be eligible for Pell Grants or certain other federal financial aid grants. They would, however, <br />be eligible for federal work study and student loans, and states would not be restricted from <br />providing their own financial aid to these students. Time spent by young people in conditional <br />permanent resident status would count towards the residency requirements for naturalization. <br />ê×ËÇÓÊ×Ï×ÎÈÉÈÍÐÓÖÈÈÔ×ÙÍÎØÓÈÓÍÎÛÎØÍÚÈÛÓÎÊ×ÕÇÐÛÊÐÛÅÖÇÐÌ×ÊÏÛÎ×ÎÈÊ×ÉÓØ×ÎÈÉÈÛÈÇÉ <br />At the end of the conditional period, unrestricted lawful permanent resident status would be <br />granted if, during the conditional period, the immigrant has maintained good moral character, <br />avoided lengthy trips abroad, and met at least one of the following criteria: <br />Graduated from a two-year college or certain vocational colleges, or studied for at least two <br />years toward a B.A. or higher degree, or <br />Served in the U.S. armed forces for at least two years. <br />The six-year time period for meeting these requirements would be extendable upon a showing <br />of good cause, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security would be empowered to waive the <br />requirements altogether if compelling reasons, such as disability, prevent their completion and if <br />removal of the student would result in exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to the student <br />or to the student’s spouse, parent or child. <br />óÎÉÈÛÈ×ÈÇÓÈÓÍÎê×ÉÈÍÊ×ÉÈÛÈ×ÍÌÈÓÍÎ <br />The DREAM Act would also repeal section 505 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and <br />Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA), which currently discourages states from <br />providing in-state tuition or other higher education benefits without regard to immigration status. <br />Under section 505, states that provide a higher education benefit based on residency to <br />undocumented immigrants must provide the same benefit to U.S. citizens in the same <br />circumstances, regardless of their state of residence. <br />Since section 505 became law, ten states have enacted laws permitting anyone, including <br />undocumented immigrants, who attended and graduated from high school in the state to pay the <br />in-state rate at public colleges and universities. The ten states are Texas, California, Utah, <br />Washington, New York, Oklahoma, Illinois, Kansas, New Mexico, and Nebraska. These states <br />all pay the section 505 penalty by providing the same in-state discount rate to current residents of <br />other states who previously went to high school and graduated in the state. The DREAM Act <br />would repeal this penalty. This would not require states to provide in-state tuition to <br />undocumented immigrants, but rather would restore this decision to the states without <br />encumbrance. <br />—————————— <br />öíêïíê÷óîöíêïûèóíîùíîèûùè <br />Adey Fisseha, Interim Federal Policy Director| fisseha@nilc.org | 202.216.0261 <br />DREAM Act: Summary |2 of 2 <br />PAGE <br />