Last week, a bipartisan group of senators outlined a framework for comprehensive immigration reform. The plan to overhaul the nation’s immigration laws includes four pillars, including a path to citizenship for nearly 11 million undocumented immigrants. That provision, also known as the DREAM Act, would provide access to higher education for certain undocumented immigrants brought into the country as children. A day after the senators announced their bipartisan framework, President Obama gave a speech in Las Vegas outlining his own plan. The main difference between the two plans is that the president’s does not require a commission to affirm an undetermined level of border security before Washington can proceed with a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.

AAUW supports the passage of the DREAM Act because we believe that increasing access to higher education and employment opportunities is imperative for individual financial security and the nation’s economic recovery. This legislation will allow undocumented students – raised in the U.S. and graduated from American high schools – to go to college, contribute to the nation’s economy, and start on the pathway to citizenship.