Illinois State Law for College Liaison HB3438: This law requires each public university and community college to designate an employee as an Undocumented Student Resource Liaison to provide assistance to undocumented students and mixed status student in streamlining access to financial aid and academic support. This law encourages each governing board to establish a Dream Resource Center on each of its campuses to offer support services, including, but not limited to, State, federal, and other financial aid assistance, academic counseling, peer support services, psychological counseling, referral services, and legal services. Illinois Dream Act: This act was signed into law on August 1, 2011 by Governor Pat Quinn. Illinois is the first state in the United States to create a private scholarship fund for undocumented students. The law makes scholarships, college savings and pre-paid tuition programs available to undocumented students who graduate from Illinois high schools. It also allows for the creation of the Illinois Dream Fund and the Illinois Dream Fund Commission. • Undocumented students who have an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), even if they do not have a social security number, can now take advantage of Illinois’ 529 college savings and prepaid tuition programs such as College Illinois! Prepaid Tuition Program, Bright Start and Bright Directions. • The Illinois Dream Fund Commission will gather contributions for the fund, publicize available scholarships and select recipients for those scholarships. The commission will also create and sponsor training programs for financial aid and admissions officers as well as high school counselors. The Initial DREAM Act S.1291 (2001): The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act (S.1291) legislation was introduced in 2001 as a bipartisan bill in the Senate. The legislative goal was to provide a means for undocumented immigrants who arrived in the United States as children to gain a pathway to permanent legal status; provided those individuals achieved certain milestones, including: • Attending or graduating from an institution of higher learning. • Be of a certain age to apply. • Be physically present in the United States for a certain number of years. • Have good moral character. • Have not violated other immigration laws. The Senate bill 1291 did not pass the Senate during the 107th Congress. However, in subsequent years, legis - lators have introduced numerous “DREAM Act” bills. There have been at least 21 subsequent bills attempting to pass a form of relief for DREAMers since its initial introduction in 2001: Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act: Since 2001, some members of Congress have tried to pass the DREAM Act, which would clear a pathway to citizenship or legal residency for undocumented students who attend college or join the military. It would also make federal loans available to undocumented students. Though the bill has never passed into federal law, individual states have passed their own DREAM acts. As of 2016, Illinois, California and Minnesota have all used the DREAM moniker to pass state legislation creating financial aid funds specifically for undocumented students. Several other states and D.C. have adopted similar policies to provide state aid and in-state tuition status to undocumented students. HB 3882 Standard Identification Card: This bill was signed into law by Governor JB Pritzker, went into effect on July 1, 2024, and grants undocumented immigrants the opportunity to obtain a standardized Illinois Driver’s License. This replaced the current Temporary Visitor Driver’s License (TVDL) with a standard 4-year license that serves as a valid form of identification and remains compliant with the federal REAL ID Act. Illinois TRUST Act (SB 31): This act prevents Illinois law enforcement agencies and officials from detaining an individual based solely on an “immigration hold.” Also under this act, local police cannot stop, search, or arrest anyone based on their immigration or citizenship status.
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