Connecticut’s DREAM bill on the verge of becoming a reality

“Education was the way to success in America,” said State Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney What do we want? In- State! When do we want it? Now!” Those were the chants of more than 150 people at a rally at New Haven City Hall on Feb. 26.

Organized by the Yale College Democrats, the event was in support of legislation recently defeated in the U.S. Congress but now revived in the Connecticut State Assembly. The federal DREAM Act would create a pathway to citizenship for undocumented students under certain criteria, and the Connecticut DREAM bill would provide in-state tuition to undocumented students at the state’s public colleges.

The rally featured speeches from New Haven Mayor John DeStefano; members of the Board of Aldermen; the Ecuadorian Consulate-General in New Haven, Raúl Erazo Velarde; State Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney; and U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal.

U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal vouched to fight for immigration reform and expressed his support to the Connecticut DREAM bill “Education was the way to success in America,” Looney said, adding that undocumented students are just as “American” as his grandson, who is a third-grade student.

Blumenthal said the country needs immigration reform now and vouched to fight for it. At the same time, he encouraged those affected by the issue to speak out. “Your faces, your voices will make it happen – your support [and] your message are vital,” Blumenthal said.

“Today’s not about the legislation,” he continued. “Today is about the American Dream.

People aspire to be here. They cross borders, seas and deserts, and they have the courage to dream, because America is the land of freedom, opportunity and democracy.

“Today is about our children, not somebody else’s children, [but] children who were brought here at an early age [and] were schooled in this state. And all they want is an opportunity to attend our colleges and universities and give back to this nation in ways that are profoundly valid, not just now but in the future, bringing skill and a work ethic – that is the American dream we need in this country.”

Looney and Blumenthal both said that Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy has promised that he would sign the bill if it were brought to his desk.

But as the Blumenthal mentioned, it was the personal accounts from four students, undocumented immigrants who bravely exposed their immigration status and are currently enrolled in colleges in the state, that put a face on the legislation and brought members of the crowd to tears.

Lucas Codognolla, who spoke at the rally and is a student at Norwalk Community College, came to Connecticut from Brazil in 2000.

“The DREAM means so much more than getting an education,” he said. “It means making my parents proud. It means I won’t have to work three jobs to pay for college. It means I’ll one day get to work in the non-profit sector.”

Codognolla said he was student body president at Westhill High School in Stamford, where he graduated in 2009 with a 3.6 grade-point average. While he said he was accepted to numerous colleges, including the University of Connecticut, they were too expensive for him to attend. He was also accepted to another college he chose not to name, which gave him a “full-ride” and then took it away after realizing he was an undocumented student.

Maria Praeli, a junior at New Milford High School, said she has lived in Connecticut ever since her family came from Peru when she was five.

“All your life, your community tells you that you can,” she said. “You grow up thinking you’re invincible.”

But according to Praeli, she learned that was not the case. When she turned 16, she realized she could not get a driver’s license or apply for a job. While all of her classmates were excited about applying to college, she said she realized she probably would not be able to afford higher education.

“Because of my illegal status, I feel defeated,” she said. “Being undocumented does not mean I won’t grow up to be someone.” But Mariano Cardosa, a student at Capital Community College, is perhaps the most critically affected by the issue.

Cardosa, who has lived in the U.S. since the age of 22 months after moving here from Mexico with his parents, is now 22 years old. He was recently issued an order of deportation. Though scheduled to graduate with a degree in engineering, Cardosa will be deported before he completes his degree.

“I have always followed the rules; I never broke the law. I give back to my community, I want to graduate, but my time is up”, Cardosa said. “Nobody wants to be a wasted talent.”

Democrats make diligent push for In-State

Approximately 10 other states, including Texas and California, have already passed bills allowing for in-state tuition for all of their residents. Connecticut has come close.

In 2007, the Senate voted 21-15 and the House of Representatives voted 77- 68 in favor of the bill. However, former Gov. M. Jodi Rell, arguing that the bill would encourage illegal immigration and that the state should wait for federal immigration reform before enacting its own in-state tuition law, exercised her right of veto.

At the time, former Rep. Felipe Reinoso, a Peruvian immigrant from Bridgeport, was the first to introduce the legislation; thereafter, he retired from the legislature.

Looney, the senate majority leader, took the issue under his wing and with the help of a Democratic governor he believes participants in the rally will get their wish – “in-state now.”

Back in November, shortly after the election, Malloy’s spokesperson, Colleen Flanagan, said Malloy “would sign a bill that grants in-state tuition to any graduate from a Connecticut high school living in the state.”

On Jan. 5, in the 2011 congressional session, banking on Malloy’s promise, Looney and Sen. Edith G. Prague made their first push by introducing CT Senate Bill 8 and Senate Bill 40, both pieces of legislation requesting that section 10a-29 of State Statutes regarding tuition charges be amended.

Senate Bill 8 asks the General Assembly to allow children of immigrants residing in this state to attend the public institutions of higher education as in-state students for tuition purposes. Rep. Patricia A. Dillon and Rep. Roland Lemar sponsored this bill.

Senate Bill 40 is more specific and adds criteria requesting the General Assembly to create an amendment that would “allow undocumented immigrant alien children who (1) reside in this state, (2) complete at least four years of high school level education in this state, and (3) register as an entering student or enroll at a public institution of higher education in this state to be entitled to the classification of an instate student for tuition purposes.”

Rep. Patricia A. Dillon also sponsored this bill.

The bills’ purpose? To increase access to higher education for immigrant children and thereby improve the quality of the Connecticut workforce.

On Jan. 14, Rep. Juan R. Candelaria introduced in the General Assembly House Bill 5282, also seeking the amendment of section 10a-29.

A public Hearing on the CT Dream act will be held at the State Capital on March 15.