By one vote, state senators did not pass New York’s DREAM Act, which would have given the children of undocumented immigrants, such as Juanita Arias, of Jackson Heights, access to college tuition assistance. File photo
State legislators fell two votes shy of passing the comprehensive Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, but not all lawmakers saw it as a loss.
While the state Senate last week was ultimately unable to pass the legislation, which would have granted thousands of students whose parents are undocumented immigrants access to college tuition assistance, state Sen. Jose Peralta (D-East Elmhurst) said it was not a total loss. Peralta said the close 30-29 vote could also be seen as a sign of better things to come.
“Six months ago, no one would have wagered that the DREAM Act would make it to the Senate floor in an election year, let alone come within two votes of passing,” Peralta said in a statement. “While the outcome clearly falls well short of the kind of trailblazing most people across the state and around the country have come to expect of New York, it is just as obviously an enormous step forward that bodes well for the DREAM Act’s prospects in the near future.”
Peralta described the young people who would benefit from greater access to higher education through the DREAM Act, “as American as the Statue of Liberty” and pledged to continue pushing to make the dream into a reality.
Numerous students in Queens would have been impacted by the DREAM Act, which supporters said would help students who have grown up in the U.S. and want to make a career and a life for themselves in the country they call home. Juanita Arias, of Jackson Heights, for example, has been named the valedictorian of Newtown High School in Elmhurst and hopes to become a neurologist or cardiologist, but because of her parents’ citizenship status, she cannot access the loans she needs to pay for her education.
“There are many limitations I will face if I cannot take out any loans for school,” Arias said in a previous interview. “But the DREAM Act would help me in pursuing my education.”
State Sen. Toby Ann Stavisky (D-Flushing) delivered a more aggressive critique of the legislative body for failing to pass the bill, which received no Republican support. She said it was crucial for the betterment of the entire state to lead the way in granting more access to undocumented students regardless of their parents’ pasts.
“On behalf of the 180,000 immigrants in my Senate district – from Elmhurst and Woodside to Flushing to Bayside to Forest Hills and Rego Park – for their future, I vote yes,” Stavisky said.
Assemblyman Michael DenDekker (D-Jackson Heights) said he was utterly disappointed in the state Senate for not following through on its part in passing the bill after his own legislative body included in its one-house budget bill earlier this month. All it needed, he said, was a vote of approval from the Senate and governor in order to make it into the state budget.
If it passed, New York would have been the fourth state in the country, including Texas, New Mexico and California, to offer state financial aid to the children of immigrants.
“When the Senate voted down this legislation, they took this opportunity away from young people in my district and throughout New York state,” he said. “Without the DREAM Act, we are simply continuing to punish young people for circumstances beyond their control.”
Gov. Andrew Cuomo stood behind the bill and called the state Senate’s inability to act a disappointment. He did not, however, include DREAM initiatives in his State of the State address and executive budget proposal earlier this year.
“I’m disappointed that the New York state Senate failed to pass the New York state DREAM Act and denied thousands of hardworking and high-achieving students equal access to higher education and the opportunity that comes with it,” Cuomo said in a statement. “I will continue to work with supporters, stakeholders and members of the legislature to achieve this dream and build the support to pass this legislation and preserve New York’s legacy as a progressive leader.”
By Phil Corso
