Representative Tony Payton, Jr. says the parents of the undocumented high school graduates have worked and paid taxes, contributing to the fabric of Pennsylvania, and the students should not be punished for decisions their parents made. The foundation of the country is immigration, he stresses.
Right now, Payton says the students must pay international tuition rates at Pennsylvania schools—the same as out-of-state tuition at Pitt and IUP, about $10,000 more than in-state—enough to put a college education out of reach for many, according to Pamela Linares of Dream Activist Pennsylvania.
Linares says Pennsylvania would be the 12th state to pass a DREAM act. Federal legislation, which would have affected 65,000 undocumented grads across the country, has not passed.
