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Illegal Immigrants may get residency through high school

by Walyce Almeida | March 12, 2007 at 02:08 pm | 839 views | 1 comment

Miami: Florida International University hosted a press conference this morning for two Miami lawmakers who encouraged the passage of a bill that would grant premanent residency to high school graduates.

Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., and his brother, Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., will team up with the Florida Immigrant Coalition and other groups to promote ``The American Dream Act.''

The bill, if passed, would grant in-state tuition to undocumented immigrant students and permit those students, along with those serving in the military, to obtain a green card and legally remain in the United States.

Gabriella Pacheco, an immigrant who graduated high school and attended Miami Dade College, has been fighting for the passage of "The American Dream Act" for the last few years. She is pursuing a higher education but feels current circumstances are killing the dreams of many young people who did not intend to be illegal immigrants.

DREAM Act
The DREAM Act in the Senate (S. 1545) and the Student Adjustment Act in the House of Representatives (H.R. 1684) would allow undocumented immigrant students who have lived in the United States for at least 5 years and have earned a high school diploma to become Lawful Permanent Residents. These bills have strong support from both Republicans and Democrats. source: http://www.afsc.org/miami/glossary.htm