A Report by Attorney Charles Jerome Ware, former United States Immigration Judge. Mr. Ware is a principal in the national law firm of Charles Jerome Ware, P.A., Attorneys and Counsellors.
The Maryland "Dream Act" has passed by popular vote. It is now the law in Maryland.
Essentially, the "Dream Act" allows qualifying undocumented immigrant students to access in-state college tuition rates as well as state financial aid.
Although the Maryland "Dream Act" gets its name from the more commonly-discussed federal legislation on the subject, this state law is far more limited in scope of relief.
For instance, the proposed federal "Dream Act" legislation, if passed, would provide a process or pathway to citizenship for qualifying undocumented young people who attend college or serve in the military. The Maryland "Dream Act", however, does not address the issue of citizenship at all.
The Maryland "Dream Act" does, however, allow certain undocumented students to better access state funding for higher education.
To qualify for the Maryland "Dream Act", undocumented students need to have attended a Maryland high school for at least three (3) years and be able to prove that their parents or themselves have paid taxes.
Initially, under Maryland's new law, students that qualify would be required to attend a community college. However, after two years of community college, the students can transfer to a 4-year university. According to some reports, the new law is estimated to cost the state $3.5 million by 2016. It was approved by a 58.3% to 41.7% popular vote.
[www.washingpost.com/ Maryland Politics/ Md. Voters Approve 'Dream Act' Law/ 11-7-2012; abcnews.go.com/ Maryland Dream Act Projected To pass/ 11-07-2012; ballotpedia.org/ Maryland In-State Tuition Referendum, Question 4 (2012)]
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