Bill Opens College Aid to Immigrant Youths - Spokane, North Idaho News & Weather KHQ.com

SEATTLE, Wash. - Lawmakers in Olympia introduced a measure Tuesday that would allow young immigrants, eligible for temporary stay in the country, to apply for state college financial aid.

The measure would join with the Obama Administration's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which provides young immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children a legal way to live in the country on re-applicable two-year stays. The bill, known as the Dream Act, would make them eligible for the State Need Grant. These students already qualify for in-state tuition.   

The measure's most difficult hurdle is getting the approval of Senate leader Rodney Tom and his Republican colleagues. A spokesman for the Senate coalition did not say what leadership thought of the bill.

Proponents say the average number of college students who can not provide proof of legal residency is around 550 annually in Washington.