The year began with some hope for the future as the Assembly Appropriations Committee on Monday released legislation that would allow some undocumented locals to pay in-state tuition at New Jersey's state colleges and universities. Assembly members Gordon Johnson, Valerie Vainieri Huttle, and Nilsa Cruz-Perez served as the key players in endorsing this educational reform.
"This is good news for me and my family. I want to study medicine and make a difference in this country but my parents cannot afford college so it made no sense for me to even bother but now I feel hopeful," says 16-year-old Christian Perez.
Perez is just one of the many undocumented immigrants who have been living in this country for decades and is being denied an educational future. "I still think that I would have to work for minimum wage like my uncles and watch my other friends move on with their lives, it is a bad feeling," he added.
According to statistics from the Jersey based website, Statemaster.com, New Jersey ranks eighth in the county with an estimated 221,000 illegal immigrants living in the Garden State since the year 2000. Further studies indicate that a quarter of these individuals are children who have migrated with their parents at a young age.
"I work so hard in high school and I want to be the first one in my family to have a college education. I have never been to my homeland and the only place I can call home is America...we should be treated like the others," said another student who identified himself as Jorge.
"An uncertain immigration status has left some of our brightest students unable to continue their education, cutting them off from the American dream," said Vainieri Huttle (D-Bergen).
Other lawmakers said that a large amount of undocumented students migrated at a very young age and their parents never standardized their immigration status and this prevents them from furthering their education. Under this system, these students are left with no other choice than to settle with minimum wage or off the books jobs.
"So many of my friends dropped out of college because it was just too much money for books, tuition and other costs, its frustrating," Jorge said.
"Nearly a century after many of our immigrant parents and grandparents were blocked from jobs simply because they were Irish or Italian; our laws effectively hang invisible signs at the college gates that say immigrants aren't welcome. We should be encouraging students who want to go to college, not blocking them," Huttle added.
Opponents of the bill argued that the state should not in any way contribute to illegal immigration.
"My colleagues need to realize that New Jersey is broke before voting at the last minute to grant another giveaway that legal and hardworking families cannot afford to provide," said Assemblyman Richard Merkt (R., Morris). "This proposal is disrespectful to those families who play by the rules, but just squeak by sending their children to college with hopes of a better future. We should be focused on helping these families, not adding to their burden."
Under this legislation, students who qualify for in-state tuition rates would have attended a New Jersey high school for at least three years and received a diploma. Also, in the future, they would be allowed to make a pledge through an affidavit where their status would be legalized.
"I have three younger sisters who came here a long time ago with my parents and if I get to go to college that means there is a way for them too and we can get to become citizens somehow," Perez said.
Currently, 11 states permit illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition and in New Jersey this can be up to half the cost of out-of-state rates. Since 2002, advocates in New Jersey have been working feverishly to advance this legislation.
In order for the bill to be passed it must be voted on by the full Assembly and Senate then signed by the governor in order to become law
"We moved here because of our parents and we cannot go back; the most that can happen is that we now live comfortable and have a good education," said Melissa Martinez, a native from Columbia.
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