For Immediate Release: July 22, 2020
Contact: Michael Earls at [email protected]
New Class of 1,200 TheDream.US Scholars Reflects Broader Eligibility to Support Younger DREAMers Barred from DACA
Washington, DC – TheDream.US, the nation’s largest college access and success program for immigrant youth, today announced that 1,200 new TheDream.US Scholars have accepted scholarships for the 2020-2021 academic year to attend 67 different Partner Colleges across the country. This includes 1,105 National Scholars who live in states that have in-state tuition for DREAMers and 95 Opportunity Scholars who live in targeted, locked-out states where the state forces them to pay out-of-state tuition that is frequently 300% of in-state costs.
The new class of TheDream.US Scholars reflects the organization’s commitment to serve DREAMers who were not yet old enough to apply for DACA when the Trump administration ended the program in 2017. Approximately 66,000 of these DREAMers now meet the DACA eligibility criteria but, until the Supreme Court’s recent decision upholding DACA, have been unable to apply. The new class of TheDream.US Scholars reflects this reality with only 35% of its National Scholars currently holding DACA.
One of the new TheDream.US Scholars is Angel Palazuelos, who plans to major in biomedical engineering at Arizona State University. Angel notes, “Being a TheDream.US Scholar is a true blessing. I am so thankful to the organization not only for being a part of my journey, but for being a beacon of hope to DREAMers like me.” In a recent virtual commencement speech that he delivered to fellow graduates in the Phoenix area, Angel said (as covered by Fernanda Santos in the New York Times): “Despite how hard it may be to believe, you are not your hardships, you are not your expectations, and you are certainly not your undocumented status. What you are is a treasure of potential: It has never been about the circumstances that you are born in, but the opportunities you make for yourself. Therefore, we have to be the ones to step up, not only to see that our families and communities are safe, but to make sure that gaps become bridged.”
According to Candy Marshall, President at TheDream.US, “We remain heartened by the continued dedication of DREAMers to obtain a college degree despite the continued uncertainty of their futures due to ongoing challenges to DACA. As we work with allies to push for a permanent legislative fix for DREAMers, we are committed to help more young immigrants get a college education and apply their talents, skills, and energy toward helping us build a stronger, more equitable country.”
Among other key statistics about the new class of TheDream.US Scholars:
- The average age of arrival to the U.S. is 5 years old for National Scholars and 4.5 years old for Opportunity Scholars
- New Scholars are current residents of 30 different states and Washington, DC
- New Scholars are from at least 62 different countries of origin
- More than 86% of New Scholars are first generation college students
- New Scholars achieved a 3.5 average GPA in high school
Read more about the new class of TheDream.US Scholars in Newsweek here.
About TheDream.US
TheDream.US is the nation’s largest college access and success program for immigrant youth, having provided over 6,500 college scholarships to DREAMers at more than 70 partner colleges in 16 states and Washington, DC. We believe that all young Americans, regardless of where they were born, should have the opportunity to get a college education and pursue a meaningful career that contributes to our country’s prosperity.
Read through TheDream.US Scholar story-bank, featuring powerful personal reflections from Scholars about their lives, journeys, and future goals here.
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