Undocumented immigrant students and their families have remained committed to The California Dream Act. Tania Kappner, a teacher at Oakland Tech, said students keep hopes high despite Governor Schwarzenegger’s reluctance to sign into law a bill which will help qualifying students fund their college education.

According to Sen. Orin Hatch and Sen. Richard Durbin, The Dream Act- SB 1301, or the Development Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, would help thousands of undocumented youth obtain higher education and become citizens.

“A lot of these kids are brought here as infants,” said Hatch. “They don’t even know that they aren’t citizens until they graduate from high school.”

“If they’ve lived good lives, if they’ve done good things, why would we penalize them and not let them at least go to school?” Kappner said.

Under this provision, qualified undocumented youth would be eligible for a six-year-long path to citizenship that requires completion of a college degree or two years of military service.

For Elizabeth Mendoza and other students, obtaining a college degree would be part of the solution to their economic problems.

Mendoza, a high school senior who has been living in Richmond since she was two,  is not considered a U.S. resident because of her parents’ undocumented status. For her, the Dream Act is a dream in itself.

“All we want is a better future for our children,” said Mendoza’s mother, Paola Jimenez, who works as a full-time nanny.

“Even though I earn an honest living, I don’t want to see my children as the ‘help.’ This is why we came to this country…for a better future,” she added.

“The Dream Act would make qualified undocumented immigrants eligible to receive financial aid, student loans and other scholarships available,” said Sen. Gilbert Cedillo.   “This would-be law would also exempt them from paying higher out-of-state tuition at public universities and colleges across the state. Eligibility is restricted to those who have attended a California high school for at least three years and received a GED or graduated with a high school diploma.”

With the cost of education on the rise, more parents are finding education too costly to attend. For undocumented students, the burden is even higher.

“In short, all these children have built their lives here,” said Hatch. “They have no possibility of achieving and living the American dream. What a tremendous loss for them and what a tremendous loss to our society.”