Mayors Representing Over 1 Million NJ Residents Call On Legislature To Pass Tuition Equity & State Aid Bill For Undocumented Students

For Immediate Release:
Tuesday, November 12th, 2013

Mayors Demand Equality & Economic Opportunity

(Trenton, New Jersey) – Today, a group of New Jersey mayors released a letter of support for a plan allowing undocumented students to qualify for in-state tuition and state scholarships. The letter calls for both the Senate and Assembly to adopt and approve s. 2479 - the Senate version of the bill. Signers include mayors of three of the state’s largest four towns, and represent more than one million New Jersey residents.
New Jersey’s Democratically-controlled state legislature is currently grappling with details of the bill - which, last month, Governor Christie signaled he would sign. The legislation - known nationally as the DREAM Act - is scheduled for a committee hearing in the State Senate this Thursday, November 14th.

Mayors signing the letter include:

Luis Quintana, Newark

Steven Fulop, Jersey City

Christian Bollwage, Elizabeth

Alex Blanco, Passaic

Timothy Dougherty, Morristown

Wilda Diaz, Perth Amboy

Timothy Cahill, New Brunswick

Dana Redd, Camden

Adrian Mapp, Plainfileld (Mayor-Elect)

Lester Taylor, East Orange (Mayor-Elect)


“Tuition equity and assistance to qualified, undocumented immigrant college students is necessary to give our state the diverse, highly skilled workforce we need to win the future,” the letter states. Citing the “unfair punishment” of placing barriers to higher education for students whose immigration status is unresolved through no fault of their own, the letter also points to the “terrible waste of municipal, state and federal dollars previously spent educating these young Dreamers in our local schools.”

“New Jersey Mayors know this: The more we invest in students, the better our towns become for all residents,” said Giancarlo Tello, an undocumented student and member of the New Jersey Dream Act Coalition. “Students from across New Jersey appreciate this support and are ready to mobilize to ensure Governor Christie signs a bill that includes tuition equality and state assistance this year.”

The current version of the Senate bill - sponsored by Senator Teresa Ruiz (LD 29) - includes tuition equality and access to state aid for undocumented students. This is provided they meet eligibility requirements: such as three years in a New Jersey high school, as well as graduation from a New Jersey high school, or having obtained a GED in New Jersey. Students must also file an affidavit promising to legalize their status as soon as they can. In the case of state aid, there is already a requirement for all applicants to prove they are paying taxes, which makes them eligible for access to funds they are already paying into.

The Assembly bill - A.3509 - is not yet scheduled for action, although an Assembly committee approved a bill in June that cut the state aid. Students and mayors alike are urging the legislature to pass the comprehensive Senate bill that includes the state aid.

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HERE IS THE CONTENT OF THE LETTER SENT BY NEW JERSEY MAYORS IN SUPPORT OF THE DREAM ACT.

Dear New Jersey Legislators,

We reach out to you on behalf of the thousands of residents we represent in each of our cities, and the countless numbers of students we have expended collective resources to educate in the hope that they can pursue their dreams and aspirations and then give back to our cities, state and country.

As mayors of municipalities big and small, we recognize that an education and the promise of a bright future is a key factor in building communities, lowering crime, and ensuring the general wellbeing of the residents we proudly and tirelessly represent. Unfortunately, in New Jersey, many of our best and brightest are left out of this vital pursuit of higher education. Charging these students, at times three times the rate of their high school peers, and barring them from access to state aid is not only an unfair punishment on children who find themselves in an immigration status limbo through no fault of their own, but it is a terrible waste of municipal, state and federal dollars previously spent educating these young Dreamers in our local schools. To add to this shameful waste, setting such often insurmountable economic obstacles on our students results in a sense of loss and hopelessness. Denied access to education feeds a cycle of poverty that proves deeply detrimental. Tuition equity and assistance to qualified, undocumented immigrant college students is necessary to give our state the diverse, highly skilled workforce we need to win the future.

We ask that you support and move SB 2479 in New Jersey, which gives undocumented students a shot at the American Dream by allowing those who grew up in the state to pay in-state tuition at colleges and universities.

SB 2479 is an important step on the road to common sense immigration reform across our state — and our nation as a whole. It will be a dream come true for thousands of bright, undocumented young men and women who are among the leaders of tomorrow. We urge New Jersey’s Senate and Assembly to do the right thing and open the door for these young people to lift themselves and their families into the middle class and help grow our state’s economy.