Opinion: California can lead on immigration reform by passing the Dream Act
By Gil Cedillo/San Jose Mercury News
Gil Cedillo
of Los Angeles represents the 45th Assembly District and is the principal
author of AB 130, The California Dream Act.
This Tuesday, two visions about the future of immigrants, California and the nation will be debated in the Assembly Higher Education Committee in Sacramento. Assemblyman Tim Donnelly, R-Claremont, and I will present starkly different proposals for how to treat immigrants who were brought to California at an early age and now want to achieve educational success. I will propose that through the California Dream Act and AB 130, we allow undocumented students to apply for higher education financial assistance. Donnelly will argue for the repeal of AB 540, the law that allows undocumented students to pay in-state tuition at our colleges and universities. But what we will really be discussing is two different ways of interpreting our history, our economic philosophies and our moral calculus. (more...)