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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, The American dream holds that there are no limits to |
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what one can achieve through hard work and individual merit, and for |
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a great majority of Americans, a quality education is integrally |
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linked to future success; and |
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WHEREAS, Although the advantages that a higher education |
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affords are well known, immigrant students across much of the |
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country are impeded in their efforts to take this crucial step in |
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their career paths; brought to the United States as children, these |
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youths have hopes and aspirations like their U.S.-born peers, and |
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their numbers include valedictorians, honor students, and student |
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body leaders; they had no choice in their parents' decision to enter |
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the United States, yet with few options for allaying the cost of |
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tuition, they are uniquely limited in their ability to pursue a |
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postsecondary education that would allow them meaningful |
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integration into the workforce; and |
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WHEREAS, In 2001, Texas became the first state to adopt a law, |
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H.B. 1403, 77th Legislature, Regular Session, that allowed all |
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resident students, regardless of immigration status, to qualify for |
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in-state tuition and financial aid at public colleges and |
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universities; passed with bipartisan support and later known as the |
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Texas Dream Act, this landmark measure has since inspired the |
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creation of similar laws, with more than a dozen other states now |
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extending in-state tuition rates to undocumented youths; and |
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WHEREAS, The reforms introduced by the Texas Dream Act |
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represent sound fiscal policy, as immigrants constitute a talented, |
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multilingual, and multicultural subset of workers who bring |
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valuable skills to an increasingly global economy; such policy |
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allows taxpayers to see a return on years of investment in the |
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public school education of these individuals, for by improving |
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their earning potential, they will in turn provide for a more robust |
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tax base; and |
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WHEREAS, According to a 2006 report by the Office of the Texas |
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Comptroller of Public Accounts, undocumented immigrants in Texas in |
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2005 generated more in state revenue than they received in state |
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services; in the 2010 fiscal year, close to 16,500 undocumented |
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immigrant students qualified for in-state tuition, and the students |
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themselves paid $32.7 million in tuition and related expenses; were |
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these students to be deprived of the incentives offered by the Texas |
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Dream Act, the loss to the Texas economy would be considerable, as |
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workers with lower levels of education earn drastically reduced |
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wages on average and face significantly higher rates of |
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unemployment, forcing them to rely more heavily on social services; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, The strength of our economy rests on an educated |
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workforce, and the Texas Dream Act provides a commonsense approach |
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to ensure that intelligent and enterprising youth have access to |
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the training and education that businesses need; now, therefore, be |
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it |
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RESOLVED, That the 84th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby affirm its support for the Texas Dream Act and urge all other |
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U.S. states to enact similar legislation. |