HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

60

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2004

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

ENCOURAGING THE HAWAII's CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION TO SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT, RELIEF, AND EDUCATION FOR ALIEN MINORS ("DREAM") ACT.

 

WHEREAS, the people and cultures of Hawaii share a long tradition of tolerance and Aloha toward immigrants; and

WHEREAS, the people of Hawaii recognize the social and especially economic benefits contributed by immigrants; and

WHEREAS, many immigrants to the State and the United States immigrated to this country with their children, who have grown up in this country, speak English, and are culturally "American"; and

WHEREAS, these children consider the United States to be their home and will remain in this country, even though they have no legal immigration status. Far from the image of these children as outsiders to our communities, they are an integral part of our society; and

WHEREAS, children of immigrants have worked their way through elementary and secondary school, often earning high marks and honors. As many of these children near high school graduation, they find the doors to higher education closed because, as immigrants, they may not be eligible for financial assistance that is needed to fund their higher education; and

WHEREAS, the immigration status of children of immigrants depends on how they entered into the United States or on their parents' immigration status. Immigrant children usually are not able to adjust their legal status unless their parents do so; and

WHEREAS, currently, adult immigrant students are treated the same as undocumented immigrants who arrived as adults and do not have an opportunity to gain legal status, unless there are exceptional circumstances; these exceptional circumstances do not include their growing up in the United States, attending elementary and secondary school in the United States, or staying out of trouble; and

WHEREAS, the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act would offer these United States-raised youngsters a mechanism by which to obtain legal status; and

WHEREAS, Senators Orrin Hatch and Richard Durbin introduced the Dream Act in 2003 to address the inability of immigrant children to seek higher education; and

WHEREAS, the Dream Act, as amended by the Grassley-Feinstein Amendment, now provides each state the option to provide in-state tuition to persons falling under the Dream Act; and

WHEREAS, under the Dream Act of 2003, most students of good moral character who came to the United States before they were sixteen years old and at least five years before the date of the bill's enactment would qualify for conditional permanent resident status upon acceptance to college, graduation from high school, or by earning a general equivalency diploma; and

WHEREAS, students would not qualify for this relief if they had committed crimes, were a security risk, or were inadmissible or removable from the country on certain other grounds; and

WHEREAS, qualifying students would be granted conditional permanent resident status, which would be similar to lawful permanent resident status, except that it would be awarded for a limited period of time -- six years, under normal circumstances -- instead of for an indefinite period; and

WHEREAS, students with conditional permanent resident status would be able to work, drive, go to school, and otherwise participate normally in day-to-day activities on the same terms as other Americans, except that they would not be able to travel abroad for lengthy periods; and

WHEREAS, time spent by young people in conditional permanent resident status would count toward the residency requirements for naturalization to United States citizenship; and

WHEREAS, at the end of the conditional period, regular lawful permanent resident status will be granted if, during the conditional period, the immigrant maintains good moral character, avoids lengthy trips abroad, and meets at least one of the following two criteria:

(1) Graduated from a two-year college or a vocational college that meets certain criteria or studied for at least two years toward a bachelor's or a higher degree; or

(2) Served honorably in the United States military for at least two years; and

WHEREAS, the six-year time period for meeting these requirements would be extendible upon a showing of good cause, and the Department of Homeland Security would be empowered to waive the requirements altogether if compelling reasons, such as disability, prevented their completion and if removal of the student would result in exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to the student or to the student's immediate family member; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2004, the Senate concurring, that Hawaii's congressional delegation is encouraged to support and vote in favor of the Dream Act 2003; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to each member of Hawaii's congressional delegation.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Development, Relief, and Education For Alien Minors ("Dream") Act