Immigration Reform 2013: In Concession To Gov. Christie, New Jersey Democrats Agree To Change Undocumented Tuition Bill

The Associated Press reported on Thursday that Democratic leaders of the New Jersey state Assembly and Senate had agreed to alter what’s dubbed the state’s own “Dream Act” – a bill granting eligibility to in-state college tuition for many young undocumented immigrants who went to high school there – in order to secure the approval of Governor Chris Christie. The governor had threatened to veto an earlier version of the bill for what he said were loopholes which made it too generous, angering Democrats, who accused him of “flip-flopping” on an idea he’d come out in support of just before the elections.

The chief change to the bill would make undocumented students ineligible for state financial aid. The governor had opposed that on the grounds that the federal “Dream Act”, which never made it out of the Senate when introduced by Democratic Sen. Richard Durbin in 2007, would not have afforded that right on a federal level. The question of whether “Dreamers” should have access to financial aid – not just loans – via Pell Grants had been an central one in negotiations over that 2007 bill, with Republican senators eventually winning the removal of that benefit.

The AP writes that the state assembly is expected to pass an unamended version of the bill today, after which the governor will veto it. His office says he will sign the new, altered version – which State Senate President Stephen Sweeney says that chamber will vote on on Thursday, along with the Assembly – when it comes back to his desk. The Camden Courier-Post says that a group of undocumented students had gathered in Camden on Tuesday to support the legislation which Gov. Christie says he’ll veto.