Should we educate people who are not citizens of our nation  and allow them to receive financial aid?

Governor Brown believes so.

The bills making up the California Dream Act are currently on track to be operative on July 1, 2012. This bill would give students who have applied for lawful immigration status, graduated from a California secondary school, and have attended a secondary school in California for three or more years. All of that is on top of the normal requirements for in-state tuition at public colleges and universities.

Now before you think they are going to steal your awarded financial aid, the bill only allows them to apply and receive competitive Cal-Grants if funding remains after all California resident students have been awarded.

These immigrant students would be eligible for Board of Governors Fee Waiver and Institutional Student Aid.

According to Senator Orrin Hatch there are more than 25,000 undocumented immigrant students who graduate every year from high school. These students cannot legally work to pay for college, yet they cannot receive financial aid like their peers.

These students are just like everyone else, they are americanized, they went to high school here, played on our sports teams, ate the same food as us. The only difference is they were not born in our country.

Often times the students who this bill would aid cannot return to their country of origin. They do not speak the language well, understand the customs, or have the skill set to work in the industries there. They cannot survive anywhere but here.

There is a good chance they went to the same classes as you, tossed their mortar board hat at graduation with you.

Do we really want to turn our backs on them now?