Lawmakers OK financial aid for undocument immigrants' children
CBH Herald School News
OLYMPIA - The Washington House of Representatives passed the REAL Hope Act recently, sending it on its way to Gov. Jay Inslee's desk.
The bill passed with 75 votes in favor and 22 against. It would give undocumented immigrants' children access to state need grants for college, as long as they have lived in Washington for at least three years, meet certain federal requirements, and are taking action to gain citizenship.
Unlike an earlier version of the bill passed by the House, the Senate's REAL Hope Act appropriated another $5 million toward the state need grant fund.
About 74,000 students received the grants last year, but there weren't enough funds for another 32,000 eligible students.
Rep. Matt Manweller, R-Ellensburg, voted against both versions of the bill. In an earlier interview with the Columbia Basin Herald, Manweller said he felt Washington does enough for undocumented immigrants already by allowing them in-state tuition rates.
Rep. Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake, voted for both versions, after speaking with students who it would affect.
"And that really made an impact on me," Warnick said in a previous interview. "That (a student) has gone through our school system, learned the ways of our country and our state, and would like to be a productive citizen, but needs a hand up - not a hand-out, but a hand up."
Sen. Janéa Holmquist Newbry, R-Moses Lake, was absent during the senate's vote on the REAL Hope Act. She later said she would have voted "nay" on principle, but had skipped the vote in a protest of the quick process that didn't allow for public comment on the new version.
Big Bend Community College spokesperson Doug Sly said some of the potential students attend BBCC. College officials already have worked on ways to help them reach their education goals, he said.
Local K-12 school districts already have spent a lot of money educating those students, Sly said, and many are smart and work hard. "They are our resource, and they could be our skilled resource." The new law will help those kids reach their potential, he said.
Sly said he wishes the state would allocate additional money for need grants, since funding already is inadequate.
Inslee called the bill a "landmark achievement" for the legislative session and said he looked forward to signing it into law.
"This bill ensures that the young men and women we've invested in at our high schools and who aspire to become productive American citizens will now have fair access to the financial support they need to turn their dreams into reality," he wrote in a statement.
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