California once again claims center stage in the immigration debate with controversy over recent legislation that would impact higher education for illegal immigrants. State bill AB 131, the second part of the legislation known as the California Dream Act, was signed into law last month by Governor Jerry Brown, after a 10-year journey through the system. The new law, which will allow illegal immigrants access to state financial aid starting January 2013, follows on the heels of the July signing of its first part AB 130, which allows undocumented students to apply for private financial aid. But the Dream Act is generating pushback from Republicans, who are collecting signatures for a referendum which would put the bill to a vote on the November 2012 ballot.

Facing the financial aid challenge

Associate director of Multi-Ethnic Programs Tamra Newman said that even if the Dream Act is upheld, it will have very little immediate impact on Biola’s admission of undocumented students. Even if they can qualify for the average Cal Grant amount of $10,000 a year, these students are in no position to afford Biola’s tuition, and because they are undocumented they can’t just go out and get a loan, Newman noted.

Attending Biola is truly a “pipe dream” for them, she said.

Biola has worked to admit undocumented students in the past, said director of Undergraduate Admissions André Stephens. Because they don’t qualify for any need-based state or federal aid, these students must pay for tuition out of pocket through their families or private sponsors. And the cost of a private college education is prohibitive.

Minority students already demonstrate greater levels of financial need, according to director of financial aid Jonathan Choy. According to Biola’s 2009-2010 statistics, the expected family contribution for the Hispanic student was $9,781, less than half that of the average white student. And the situation is even more bleak for undocumented students. Choy said his office gets under half a dozen inquiries a year about financial aid options for students without papers wanting to attend Biola.

Opposing viewpoints

Yet, amid a rising dialogue in the Christian community about the challenge of diversity in higher education and what it means to balance justice with compassion, the Dream Act is stirring conversation among Biolans.

Senior liberal studies major Kelsey Murphy said she is against the bill.

“I think that it should be our country’s priority to help our citizens first,” Murphy said. “There’s a lot of struggling citizens who should get that money first.”

But Murphy acknowledged that it is difficult to balance the Christian responsibility to care for the disadvantaged with the civil obligation to uphold the law.

“I think there’s a way to be against the bill without being against the people,” Murphy said.

Other students disagree.

“I support the California Dream Act because of the direct impact education has on my friends and family,” said sophomore sociology major Erika Sanchez, who is the first in her family to attend college. “I understand that this bill is something that will help them achieve their dreams.”

For Sanchez and others like her, the legislation goes far beyond politics and is instead rooted in deep personal experience and relationships. However, many misunderstand the origins and complex nature of the current immigration situation.

“Unfortunately, everyone thinks it’s just Mexicans,” said Stephens, regarding illegal immigrants. “That’s the way it is portrayed in the media, but that’s not true.”

Stephens noted that undocumented students can be of any nationality, and are most often brought to this country by their parents when they were only a few years old.

“They don’t even know they’re illegal,” Stephens said. “This is their home country compared to the country they left because they don’t know anything different.”

Junior psychology major Julie Hernandez supports the bill and the intention behind it.

“They’re trying to make it equal for everyone to get an education here,” Hernandez said. “The Dream Act makes it more possible for [undocumented students] to find ways to make up the rest of the money.”

A seemingly hopeless situation

Hernandez, who works with Sanchez in Admissions as part of the Multi-Ethnic Outreach department, said the Biola Ethnic Advancement Team is already bringing up the Dream Act in conversations with prospective students at outreach events. Hernandez said that students who are undocumented feel that college is not an option and they have reached the end of the road. Despite the Dream Act, under current legislation, illegal immigrants cannot legally enter the work force, regardless of their education level.

“Life in general is pretty hopeless,” said Newman, who has encountered undocumented students even at the graduate level. “If you put yourself in their shoes for a second, you can’t help but feel some empathy for them. These are real people.”

While the California Dream Act isn’t the final answer to this controversy, Newman said it is a step in the right direction.

“If you have no hope and doors are closed on you, what do you have to work for?” Newman asked. “[The act] gives them hope, and at the end of the day it empowers them with education.”

Educating the next generation

America was founded as the land of opportunity on the premise that all people are created equal, said sociology professor Brad Christerson. A nation built by immigrants, the United States has always been the place where individuals from anywhere are accepted as American if they work hard and contribute.

“Why would we not want to educate them?” Christerson asked. “Like every generation, immigrants are the key to America’s future success.”

An appropriate response to this topic is especially demanded of Christians, Christerson said, noting passages such as Leviticus 19 and Matthew 25 where God commands his people to welcome the strangers in their land.

“We have a biblical command to welcome those who are outsiders and to recognize that we are all immigrants in a world that is God’s not ours,” Christerson said.

Director of Multi-Ethnic Programs Glen Kinoshita agreed about the impact personal relationships have on the debate.

“It makes a world of difference when you are in fellowship with someone who is in this situation,” Kinoshita said. “There’s a lot of misunderstanding about immigration, but I think one of the ways we can begin to heal and build bridges is get to know people—real, live people and their stories.”