84R6016 BK-D
By: Anchia H.C.R. No. 40
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The American dream holds that there are no limits to
what one can achieve through hard work and individual merit, and for
a great majority of Americans, a quality education is integrally
linked to future success; and
WHEREAS, Although the advantages that a higher education
affords are well known, immigrant students across much of the
country are impeded in their efforts to take this crucial step in
their career paths; brought to the United States as children, these
youths have hopes and aspirations like their U.S.-born peers, and
their numbers include valedictorians, honor students, and student
body leaders; they had no choice in their parents' decision to enter
the United States, yet with few options for allaying the cost of
tuition, they are uniquely limited in their ability to pursue a
postsecondary education that would allow them meaningful
integration into the workforce; and
WHEREAS, In 2001, Texas became the first state to adopt a law,
H.B. 1403, 77th Legislature, Regular Session, that allowed all
resident students, regardless of immigration status, to qualify for
in-state tuition and financial aid at public colleges and
universities; passed with bipartisan support and later known as the
Texas Dream Act, this landmark measure has since inspired the
creation of similar laws, with more than a dozen other states now
extending in-state tuition rates to undocumented youths; and
WHEREAS, The reforms introduced by the Texas Dream Act
represent sound fiscal policy, as immigrants constitute a talented,
multilingual, and multicultural subset of workers who bring
valuable skills to an increasingly global economy; such policy
allows taxpayers to see a return on years of investment in the
public school education of these individuals, for by improving
their earning potential, they will in turn provide for a more robust
tax base; and
WHEREAS, According to a 2006 report by the Office of the Texas
Comptroller of Public Accounts, undocumented immigrants in Texas in
2005 generated more in state revenue than they received in state
services; in the 2010 fiscal year, close to 16,500 undocumented
immigrant students qualified for in-state tuition, and the students
themselves paid $32.7 million in tuition and related expenses; were
these students to be deprived of the incentives offered by the Texas
Dream Act, the loss to the Texas economy would be considerable, as
workers with lower levels of education earn drastically reduced
wages on average and face significantly higher rates of
unemployment, forcing them to rely more heavily on social services;
and
WHEREAS, The strength of our economy rests on an educated
workforce, and the Texas Dream Act provides a commonsense approach
to ensure that intelligent and enterprising youth have access to
the training and education that businesses need; now, therefore, be
it
RESOLVED, That the 84th Legislature of the State of Texas
hereby affirm its support for the Texas Dream Act and urge all other
U.S. states to enact similar legislation.