TheDream.US: Reminder of Need to Support and Empower Dreamers Amidst Disappointment Over Congressional Inaction
By Sadhana Singh December 20, 2022
For Immediate Release: December 20, 2022
Contact: Michael Earls at [email protected]
TheDream.US: Reminder of Need to Support and Empower Dreamers Amidst Disappointment Over Congressional Inaction
Gaby Pacheco: “Nothing can replace Congress doing its job and resolving Dreamers’ uncertainty. But in the interim, all of us can find ways to extend support and share opportunities to empower immigrant youth, including helping spread the word of our TheDream.US scholarship round and other meaningful opportunities to support Dreamers’ futures.”
Visit https://www.thedream.us/scholarships/ to Learn More and Encourage Applications Before January and February.
Washington, DC – TheDream.US, the nation’s largest college access and success program for immigrant youth, today issued the following statement from Gaby Pacheco, Director of Advocacy, Communications, and Development of TheDream.US:
“We are profoundly disappointed that another Congress is set to end without resolving the urgent need to secure Dreamers’ futures in this country and despite the opportunity at hand to enact a popular bipartisan breakthrough. We stand with our TheDream.US Scholars and alumni and the broader Dreamer population and share in the collective sense of frustration and disappointment many feel.
While we cannot control Congress and its inaction and obstruction in the face of the urgent need, we can redouble our efforts to support Dreamers in their pursuit of higher education and a meaningful career. Our open TheDream.US Scholarship application round is one way Dreamers can take more control of the direction of their own lives.
Nothing can replace Congress doing its job and resolving Dreamers’ uncertainty. But in the interim, all of us can find ways to extend support and share opportunities to empower immigrant youth, including helping spread the word of our TheDream.US scholarship round and other meaningful opportunities to support Dreamers’ futures.”
This year, in the 10th application round since the organization’s founding, TheDream.US has expanded its eligibility criteria to make higher education options available for even more Dreamers. Applications are open to immigrant students who came to the U.S. before the age of 16 and before Nov. 1, 2017. All undocumented students who meet the eligibility criteria are welcome to apply. More information and application details are available at: https://thedream.us/scholarships
In addition to the National Scholarship, for Dreamers who are about to graduate high school or earn a GED; current community college students; or current university students to attend a Partner College in their state (more details here ahead of end of February application deadline), The Opportunity Scholarship is for students who live in targeted, locked-out states where they cannot access or face limited in-state tuition eligibility.
The Opportunity Scholarship provides up to $80,000 to cover tuition, fees, and on-campus housing and meals for a bachelor’s degree at one of five out-of-state colleges – Christian Brothers University in Tennessee; Delaware State University; Dominican University in Illinois; Eastern Connecticut State University; or Trinity Washington University in Washington, D.C. Deadline for applications to the Opportunity Scholarship is January 31, 2023. Full information on eligibility and how to apply is available HERE.
In recent years, Opportunity Scholars have come from states such as Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, and Wisconsin.
TheDream.US uses the following list of locked-out states to determine Opportunity Scholarship eligibility – a list of states with limited or inaccessible in-state tuition: Alabama; Alaska; Arkansas; Georgia; Idaho; Indiana; Iowa; Louisiana; Maine; Massachusetts; Mississippi; Missouri; Montana; New Hampshire; North Carolina; North Dakota; Ohio; South Carolina; South Dakota; Vermont; West Virginia; Wisconsin; and Wyoming.
TheDream.US is the nation’s largest college and career success program for undocumented immigrant students, having provided more than 8,750 college scholarships to Dreamers attending over 80 partner colleges in 21 states and Washington, DC. We believe everyone, regardless of where they were born, should have equitable access to a college education, a meaningful career, and opportunities to contribute to the communities they call home. For more information on TheDream.US, visit www.thedream.us
Meet TheDream.US Graduates
TheDream.US has over 3,000 graduates who are driven, resilient, and helping move our shared country forward. They are nurses, teachers, authors, computer scientists, research scientists, business entrepreneurs, nurses, policy analysts, social justice workers – all contributing to the social and economic prosperity of this country. Their stories are ones of resilience and determination. Meet some of TheDream.US graduates and their stories here
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