DREAM Act (Part II) Passes State Legislature, Ready to Be Signed by California Governor
Taxpayer dollars to fund the college careers of illegal immigrants?
Associated Press Assemblyman Gil Cedillo celebrated the passage of Part I of the DREAM Act just last month.
Yes, please!, said both the California State Senate and Assembly this week, giving their blessing to the DREAM Act's controversial second half in record time.
The bill was only just freed from its limbo in a Senate committee last week. It now goes to the desk of Governor Jerry Brown, where he'll have a month to sign it. He signed the first part in his sleep at the end of July...
... but AB 130 was much less of a firecracker than AB 131, as it merely allowed universities to issue their own private aid to illegals.
An aid for Assemblyman Gil Cedillo, who proposed the bill, told us last week that though Brown "hasn't explicitly indicated support," and "did raise concerns about the costs of the bill" initially, it has since been rewritten to exclude adult-school and technical-school students.
AB 131's price tag now sits at a firm $20.5 million to $30.5 million a year, according to the aid. It would allow alien college students to receive in-state residential status, in order to qualify for financial aid like CalGrants.
The Coalition for Humane Rights of Los Angeles issued a celebratory Tweet this afternoon:
"A historic, giant step for Education and California's rich multicultural population. We thank the California Legislature and we urge Gov. Brown to sign AB131."
The immigrants-rights group is hopeful on that front. "We strongly believe he will sign the bill but are yet unaware of when or where he will sign it," CHIRLA said in a statement yesterday.
The SoCal secession crowd is considerably less stoked. More to come on their inevitable fury, should Brown join Obama in the borderline-amnesty camp. (See: "ICE's Official Guidelines for Who to Deport Under Confusing Obama 'Amnesty'."
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