It is the end of the semester, registration comes and the nightmare of having to pay for tuition bills invades our minds. What shall we do? Perhaps work-study or get a not so desirable loan. Right? You might say to yourself, "This couldn't be worse." Well, believe it or not, dozens of undocumented students have to face the harsh reality of not getting any type of federal financial aid.

Every year, thousands of honor roll students, star athletes and talented artists-individuals who would greatly contribute to the nation's growth find their futures circumscribed by current immigration laws. These individuals get accepted to college, but they realize paying $25,000 a year is impossible for them. They cannot get a decent job because they do not have a piece of paper that has nine digits on it, the so-called Social Security number. They do not qualify for most scholarships. Yeah, life sucks for them. And those who are able to go to college live in a world of uncertainty, fearing that they will have to drop out eventually because of the lack of funds.
The hope to solve the problem lays in the California Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, which would provide access to financial aid and a path to citizenship for qualified students. Our "thoughtful" governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, vetoed the (amended) bill again Sept. 30. Since the beginning of the year, in hope that the bill would be signed, people around the Golden State had been showing their support by signing petitions or by writing to their representatives. By Any Means Necessary (BAMN), a political organization at Cal, even organized a march in Sacramento where nearly 2000 people gathered to protest. Where do these efforts go after our governor refuses to sign the bill?
There are several arguments against the DREAM Act. One of them is that giving financial aid to undocumented students might affect our current budget crisis. Some people believe that taxpayers would be dramatically affected. Well, for those who ignore this, undocumented immigrants are required to pay the same taxes as US citizens. Since they are working "under the table," they are able to get a taxpayer identification number from the IRS to file their income tax return. Yes, they pay as much as Americans do, but without getting any direct benefits from it. Despite the budget crisis, the issue should be addressed as soon as possible. More classes of outstanding high school students will graduate with no prospects for relief. More college students will drop out. Education is the gateway to higher salaries and thus higher taxes; California would explicitly benefit from the DREAM Act by educating more residents.
Certain people might argue that undocumented students should just go back to their country of origin. They do not realize that most of these students came to the US as children who followed their parents into a situation they did not volunteer to be part of. They were drawn into an environment that they had no control over. Did these innocent children have intentions to violate the law? Certainly not. Yadira, one of my friends from high school, was brought by her parents to the US illegally when she was three months old. She sees America as her home. She does not speak Spanish even though she was born in Mexico. All her relatives live here. Where would she go if she had to return to Mexico? Yadira got accepted to Cal, the college of her dreams. Instead, she had to attend a community college because she could not pay for her tuition bill.
Undocumented students are not lawbreakers who want to waste resources and contribute to nothing. They are not drug dealers, rapists, idlers or unintelligent primitive beings that do not speak a word of English. They are people with hopes and dreams like you and me. They want a college degree as much as you do. Their desire to become successful is as intense as yours. They would make college campuses more diverse since they come from different cultures and have unique perspectives. By enacting the federal DREAM Act, Congress would legally recognize what is de facto true: These young students belong here.

By Gabriela Monico