Currently, undocumented students in D.C. cannot receive D.C. TAG funding for college.  We support allowing all D.C. students access to these funds, so that all youth are encouraged to pursue higher education. 

Many D.C. students have attended D.C. schools their entire lives and have been academically successful, but because they are undocumented it is extremely difficult for them to pay for college.  Undocumented youth cannot get financial support through federal loans, and often become extremely discouraged when it's time to apply for college.  Let's help ALL students pursue their dreams!

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Why you should support our petition:

Our country is founded on the principles of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, so we should allow everyone to share that dream. Young students in DC who have lived here almost their entire lives and worked hard in school deserve the same financial support to go to college as other students. They are not eligible for loans, so this money would make an incredible difference.  The Declaration of Independence states that all men are created equal. It does not say that only people with documents should have rights, it states that we all are endowed with the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  Additionally, in the 1982 Supreme Court case Plyer v. Doe, the court ruled that it is the moral obligation of the country to provide a K-12 education to all children, regardless of immigration status.  We believe that this is also true for higher education.   All young people deserve an equal chance.

Additionally, sending more students to college helps the economy.  This is true because the more education we have means we make more money and the more money we have, we spend more money which creates more jobs. Right now, only 5-10% of undocumented students go to college.  Many high achieving students in DC, like our some of our peers at Chavez, want to go to college and would be very successful, but they cannot because they are undocumented and cannot afford it. Also, research shows that if we provide legal status to the 11.7 million undocumented immigrants here today, this would help increase the economy by $1.1 trillion.  When these students graduate from college, they will be professional people who will pay a large amount of money in taxes which means that they will help the economy more than people who do not have an education.  If these students do not have opportunities for education, the only option they have would be a low paying job.  This would mean that they wouldn't have enough money for their needs and they would be a burden on society instead of a benefit.

Finally, we should help undocumented students in D.C. go to college because the majority of people in the United States support and feel positively about undocumented immigrants.   In a 2013 CBS new poll, 74% of people answered positively to the question: "In general, do you favor or oppose providing a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants under 30 who were brought to the U.S. as children as long as they do not have a criminal record and obtain either two years of college or military service?"  If the majority of Americans support the DREAM ACT, they should also support our DC youth in their dream of a college education!