Currently laws to support illegal documented deferred action students in the right to in-state college tuition are being debated in Virginia. An estimated 8,100 people have been approved in Virginia for the deferred action program. This program enables those who were brought to the United States illegally before they turned 16 to be eligible for a work permit and a stay of deportation.
The issue comes when the hardworking immigrant who has followed the law and has grown paying taxes in Virginia can’t enroll in colleges and universities and pay in-state tuition. Newly elected Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring is fighting for those in the shadows and pushing forward with the help of Gov. Terry McAuliffe to bring the deferred students out the shadows.
Mr. Herring said, “instead of punishing and placing limits on these smart talented hard-working young people, Virginia should extend them an opportunity for an affordable education.”
I am a deferred action student, seeking educational opportunities after high school. It is hard to even understand why the state of my childhood years since first grade through twelfth wouldn’t allow me to advance academically in the same manner as my peers. I support the economy of Virginia as a resident in the same way as my peers and therefore should be eligible to pay in-state tuition. I wish the Commonwealth we call home would have more common sense and I am hopeful for change in the near future.
For more information on this topic please visit the link below and also contact your local representative and let your voice be heard.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/virginia-attorney-general-declares-dreamers-eligible-for-in-state-tuition/2014/04/29/ed594aea-cfb0-11e3-b812-0c92213941f4_story.html
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