Fearing deportation, California's 'Dreamers' are skipping out on financial aidhttp://www.latimes.com/nation/sns-tns-bc-cmp-calif-dreamers-20170222-story.htmlAs widespread fears of deportation sweep California, the number of undocumented immigrant students in California applying for college financial aid has
dropped more than 40 percent, new data shows.
"We know the fear is real, and we see it in the numbers," said state Assemblyman Jose Medina, a Riverside Democrat, who heads the Assembly's higher education committee, on Wednesday.
With the state's financial aid deadline approaching, some politicians and advocates now worry that the decision to skip out on tuition aid will send many of the state's young, educated immigrants back into the shadows, unable to attend college or to launch careers.
Under the California Dream Act, undocumented students brought to the U.S. as children commonly known as "Dreamers" are eligible for in-state tuition and certain forms of financial aid while they are enrolled in state colleges and universities. But with a new federal administration sharply clamping down on illegal immigration in its first month, thousands of students have become reluctant to share personal information with the government, fearing deportation, according to educators and state political leaders.