By Diana Stephanie Lara
In celebration of Immigrant Heritage Month, we can recognize the developing opportunities for Latino immigrants in the United States. Over the years, the presence of Latinos in the United States has received growing national attention. A major legislation discussed nationwide has been the DREAM Act. The approval of this act would allow young undocumented immigrants to become permanent residents. With one of the largest Latino populations in the United States, California adopted the DREAM act in 2011 granting undocumented students in-state tuition and eligibility for scholarships and grants. This bill represents an investment in the future of Latinos who will become active citizens of the U.S.
More recently, California’s Senate has approved Senate Bill 4 which creates health care options for undocumented immigrants. Senate Bill 4 will provide undocumented immigrants with health insurance on the state exchange and will enroll eligible minors in Medi-Cal, California’s insurance program for low-income recipients.[1] There are still controversial debates on the new bill, but with strong support by Democrats and Republicans, the possibility for immigrants to receive proper and affordable healthcare is very probable. With a progressive mindset, California is taking active steps to help the Latino community integrate, become more involved, stay healthy, and step out of the cycle of poverty.
Fortunately, California is not the only state that recognizes and acts upon the necessities that hard-working undocumented immigrants are declined under federal law. Along with 10 other states, the District of Columbia, even though it is not a state and lacks representation in Congress, has recently provided an opportunity for undocumented immigrants to receive a driver’s license.[2] On May 1, 2014, the DMV started issuing limited purpose driver’s licenses in hopes that this would help the 25,000 unauthorized immigrants residing in the District.[3] A driver’s license provides immigrants with a form of valid identification for school and employment purposes; it even permits immigrants to enroll at the District of Columbia’s community college, also known as UDC. The state of California and the District of Columbia recognize the importance of giving immigrants opportunities to achieve a better life in this country.
However, opportunities are not the only barriers for immigrants, deportation laws have also caused millions of immigrants to fear and avoid law enforcement at all cost. State and federal laws, including permission for police to ask “suspicious” people for papers in Arizona and the detention of immigrants with minor felonies by the federal Secure Communities program, instill the idea that if undocumented immigrants go to authorities in cases of emergencies they will get deported.[4] Connecticut was the first state to respond to this problem by passing the TRUST Act. The TRUST Act only allows the state agencies and municipal governments to submit a detention request if an individual has a serious felony conviction.[5] What this means is that undocumented immigrants will not be arrested and processed for deportation in cases of minor violations such as speeding. Connecticut led the way for other states to improve the relationship between immigrant communities and local authorities. Providing protection to innocent people by limiting the states involvement with the Secure Communities program is an influential step in earning trust among undocumented immigrants.
Here in Georgia, the opportunities for undocumented immigrants may not be as prevalent. Nevertheless, Georgia’s Latino community is growing and organizations such as GALEO, are creating a voice for Latino rights in the state. In fact, GALEO, along with other organization and lobbyists were able to prevent a recent proposal to ban driver’s licenses to immigrants with deferred action from passing in the Georgia Senate.[6] Even though the proposal was not a step towards new opportunities for immigrants, this success demonstrates that Georgia will not be taking a step back in this issue.
On the other hand, Emory University, one of the top universities in the state of Georgia, has announced that they will be offering financial aid to undocumented students beginning fall of 2015.[7] A student advocacy group called Freedom campaigned to help students without U.S. citizenship afford an Emory education. Unlike the state’s decision to decline undocumented student’s in-state tuition, Emory will be figuring out how to organize and find private funding for eligible undocumented students. Education equality is growing among the U.S. states regardless of political affiliation and discriminatory laws, and while politicians and people continue to debate, today we are able to experience the Latino heritage in the United States of America.
[1] http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article22904433.html
[2] http://dmv.dc.gov/page/limited-purpose-credential-step-step-process
[3] http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/just-facts/new-americans-washington-dc
[4] http://nation.time.com/2012/09/07/immigration-update-arizona-police-can-now-ask-papers-please/
[5] http://www.uumassaction.org/connecticut-unanimously-passes-trust-act-to-limit-deportations/
[6] http://wabe.org/post/ga-senate-rejects-drivers-license-ban-undocumented-immigrants
[7] http://emorywheel.com/emory-to-offer-financial-aid-to-undocumented-students/
“NOTE: The opinions express in this blog are the opinions of the author only. It is not to be assumed that the opinions are those of GALEO or the GALEO Latino Community Development Fund. For the official position on any issue for GALEO, please contact Jerry Gonzalez, Executive Director of GALEO at jerry@2014old.galeo.org.”