For years the Democratic Party has burnished its reputation and built its support among Latinos on a foundation of empty words, broken promises and false intentions. They repeatedly claim to champion causes and to address issues important to Latinos, yet their actions invariably have been ineffective, often raising false hopes with significant negative impacts. Assemblyman Gil Cedillo’s reintroduction of the California Dream Act (AB 130, 131) represents exactly that type of political posturing.
The California Dream Act does not in any way impact a person’s legal status. It does not provide legalization nor will it provide a pathway for legalization. What is does provide is fee waivers, Cal Grants, and other financial aid programs to undocumented students, at a cost $190 million over the next five years.
I have known Assemblyman Cedillo for nearly a decade. He has been my state Assemblyman, Senator, and is now once again my Assemblyman. We have sat together on the same flights between Sacramento and Los Angeles, and we’ve sat opposite each other on television to debate economic, educational, and immigration issues. I don’t question his overall passion, commitment, or desire to be constructive. However, I do question whether introducing legislation that cost us $190 million, at a time when our higher education system is forced to cut classes, turning away thousands of eligible students, increase fees, and is now facing a billion dollars in cuts, is economically prudent.
Having been born in East Los Angeles and raised in Echo Park, I have known some of these individuals who were brought to this country at an early age by their parents. Through no fault of their own and choices made by their parents, they have been left to make their lives in California.
Our state has educated them, taught them our language, our history and culture. They have been required to memorize and recite our pledge of allegiance, study our founding fathers and, for a majority of these immigrant children, California is their home – perhaps the only one they have ever known. Some don’t even speak their native language or understand their native culture, and many will only find out about their undocumented status when they are about to graduate from high school.
While I personally support a modified version of the federal Dream Act (more on this subject next week), the California Dream Act raises some false hopes and it fails to answer some important questions.
First and foremost, the California Dream Act completely fails to address the most important issue – that of the students’ legal status. As Democratic Senator Robert Menendez (D-New Jersey), noted last week on En Focque, “Immigration is a federal issue. It is not a state or municipal issue.” Unless the federal government comes forward with some type of study and/or work visa, what becomes of an undocumented immigrant who attains their degree? What types of opportunities would they be denied because of their immigration status?
On April 1, 2010, the Sacramento Bee’s Susan Ferriss wrote an article highlighting that illegal immigrants represent less than 1 percent of all California college enrollment. While this bill provides $190 million of financial assistance over the next five years to a tiny fraction of the student population, other students and families are shouldering the burden of education cuts through skyrocketing tuition increases. How will the governor explain such a narrowly tailored spending increase when cuts backs and sacrifice are required for everyone else?
A month ago, Gov. Brown made a big deal of saving the state $20 million by eliminating half of the state-issued cell phones. What will his message be to the poor, disabled and most vulnerable Californians who made their rounds in the Capitol this past week?
With large Democratic majorities in both legislative chambers, having this bill work its way through the legislature and onto the governor’s desk will be easy. And if Gov. Brown does sign this bill, California Democrats will probably achieve their election goal of giving President Barack Obama a California pass from making “Obama’s Promise” a reality for Latino families.
Hector M. Barajas is a communications specialist at Bellor Communications Inc. and formerly worked as a spokesman for Governor Schwarzenegger’s 2003 and 2006 campaigns and Meg Whitman 2010.