SOS ALL HANDS ON DECK! After years in the making, were now at the HOME STRETCH to pass the NYS Dream Act: Your Help is Needed Now! Dear educators of immigrant students and allies, You may have heard of the New York Dream Act - a bill that if enacted would allow undocumented students who meet in-state tuition requirements to access state financial aid for higher education purposes. Of the 65,000 undocumented high school students who graduate from American high schools annually, only 5-10% go on to attend college due to tremendous financial obstacles. California, Texas, Minnesota, Washington and New Mexico have recently passed state-level DREAM Acts allowing undocumented students to access state funded financial aid. New York, as a state with one of the largest immigrant populations in the United States, should be at the forefront of passing legislation that is economically prudent and morally just. Over the past two weeks there have been some exciting developments in the New York campaign and the time is now to help the New York State Youth Leadership Council (NY’s undocumented youth-led organization) get this bill into a law. Governor Cuomo said this week that he would sign it if it passed the Senate. The State Assembly already passed it. The focus now is on the Senate, specifically some key legislators that have either been on the fence or not as overtly supportive as possible. We are closer than ever to getting this done. Your efforts are the key difference. We only have 3 weeks to get this in the Executive Budget. We need your help. Now is the time to make phone calls to your state legislators, contact people you know in the press, share what is happening with your colleagues and students and keep the pressure on legislators before the April 1st deadline for Cuomo’s executive budget. There are a few levels of action you can take: 1) Make phone calls to your state legislator urging them to support the act, and if they already are doing so, to keep the pressure on their colleagues 2) Call Governor Cuomo to encourage him to include it already in his budget 3) Reach out to contacts you have in Brooklyn, Buffalo, Rochester and Queens and Long Island, NY - districts where there are swing voter legislators that could make all the difference. Encourage your people to make phone calls and talk to to the press. 4) Do outreach for and attend an action March 19th, late afternoon at City Hall. More details coming soon. Able to commit to any of the following? Fill out this form so we can help the YLC keep track. https://docs.google/forms/d/1IJMVV3OAYKYMSt6EMyCP7exyMltQlXGXsPQBO8b3Amw/viewform NY Dream Act NYS Youth Leadership Council
Posted on: Tue, 04 Mar 2014 13:38:24 +0000
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