Higher Education Dream Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1298 To prohibit discrimination in higher education against certain undocumented students on the basis of immigration status, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 15, 2019 Mr. LEWIS (for himself and Mr. GALLEGO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently deter- mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To prohibit discrimination in higher education against certain undocumented students on the basis of immigration sta- tus, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Higher Education 4 Dream Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:17 Mar 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1298.IH H1298 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 1298 IH SEC. 2. HIGHER EDUCATION FOR DREAMER STUDENTS. 1 Part B of title I of the Higher Education Act of 1965 2 (20 U.S.C. 1011 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 3 the following: 4 ‘‘SEC. 124. NONDISCRIMINATION AGAINST DREAMER STU- 5 DENTS IN HIGHER EDUCATION. 6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—An institution of higher edu- 7 cation that receives Federal funds or financial assistance 8 under any Federal program shall not discriminate or take 9 adverse action against a Dreamer student on the basis of 10 that individual’s immigration status. 11 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—An institution of higher edu- 12 cation that receives Federal funds or financial assistance 13 under any Federal program shall not prohibit a Dreamer 14 student from applying for admission, nor shall it prohibit 15 a Dreamer student who is accepted to that institution 16 from enrolling. 17 ‘‘(c) ADMISSIONS.—An institution of higher edu- 18 cation that receives Federal funds or financial assistance 19 under any Federal program shall not discriminate against 20 or penalize in the admissions process a Dreamer student 21 who is otherwise qualified for admission to the institution, 22 on the basis of that individual’s immigration status, nor 23 shall such an institution differentiate in the admissions 24 process on the basis of residency between a United States 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:17 Mar 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1298.IH H1298 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 1298 IH citizen applicant and a Dreamer student applying from the 1 same State. 2 ‘‘(d) TUITION RATE.—An institution of higher edu- 3 cation that receives Federal funds or financial assistance 4 under any Federal program shall not charge a greater rate 5 of tuition than the rate charged for residents of the State 6 in which the institution is located to a Dreamer student 7 who, but for such individual’s immigration status, other- 8 wise qualifies as a resident of the State in which the insti- 9 tution is located. 10 ‘‘(e) CONFIDENTIALITY OF INFORMATION.— 11 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITION.—No officer or employee of 12 the United States, of a State, or of an institution of 13 higher education that receives Federal funds or fi- 14 nancial assistance under any Federal program to 15 which a Dreamer student applies for admission or 16 enrolls, may— 17 ‘‘(A) use the information furnished by the 18 Dreamer student to arrest, detain, or initiate 19 removal proceedings against any person identi- 20 fied in that information; 21 ‘‘(B) make any publication whereby the in- 22 formation furnished by any particular Dreamer 23 student can be identified; or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:17 Mar 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1298.IH H1298 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 1298 IH ‘‘(C) permit anyone other than an officer 1 or employee of the Federal Government or the 2 institution of higher education to which a 3 Dreamer student applies or enrolls, to examine 4 any information provided by a Dreamer student 5 relating to that individual’s immigration status 6 or qualifications to be a Dreamer student. 7 ‘‘(2) PENALTY.—Whoever knowingly uses, pub- 8 lishes, or permits information to be examined in vio- 9 lation of this subsection shall be fined not more than 10 $50,000. 11 ‘‘(f) DEFINITION OF DREAMER STUDENT.— 12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In this section, the term 13 ‘Dreamer student’ means an individual who— 14 ‘‘(A) as defined in section 101 of the Im- 15 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 16 1101)— 17 ‘‘(i) is not a national of the United 18 States; 19 ‘‘(ii) maintains a residence in the 20 United States; 21 ‘‘(iii) does not possess a valid immi- 22 grant visa, a valid nonimmigrant visa, or 23 equivalent document demonstrating a law- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:17 Mar 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1298.IH H1298 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 1298 IH ful immigration status in the United 1 States; and 2 ‘‘(iv) is not considered to be a non- 3 immigrant solely due to the application of 4 section 244(f)(4) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 5 1254a(f)(4)); 6 ‘‘(B) was younger than 18 years of age on 7 the date on which the individual initially en- 8 tered the United States; 9 ‘‘(C) has provided a list of each secondary 10 school that the student attended in the United 11 States; and 12 ‘‘(D)(i) has earned a high school diploma, 13 the recognized equivalent of such diploma from 14 a secondary school, or a high school equivalency 15 diploma in the United States or is scheduled to 16 complete the requirements for such a diploma 17 or equivalent before the next academic year be- 18 gins; 19 ‘‘(ii) has acquired a degree from an institu- 20 tion of higher education or is enrolled in a pro- 21 gram for a baccalaureate degree or higher de- 22 gree at an institution of higher education in the 23 United States; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:17 Mar 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1298.IH H1298 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 1298 IH ‘‘(iii) at any time was eligible for a grant 1 of deferred action under— 2 ‘‘(I) the June 15, 2012, memorandum 3 from the Secretary of Homeland Security 4 entitled ‘Exercising Prosecutorial Discre- 5 tion with Respect to Individuals Who 6 Came to the United States as Children’; or 7 ‘‘(II) the November 20, 2014, memo- 8 randum from the Secretary of Homeland 9 Security entitled ‘Exercising Prosecutorial 10 Discretion with Respect to Individuals 11 Who Came to the United States as Chil- 12 dren and with Respect to Certain Individ- 13 uals Who Are the Parents of U.S. Citizens 14 or Permanent Residents’; or 15 ‘‘(iv) has served in the uniformed services, 16 as defined in section 101 of title 10, United 17 States Code, for not less than 4 years and, if 18 discharged, received an honorable discharge. 19 ‘‘(2) HARDSHIP EXCEPTION.—The Secretary 20 shall issue regulations that direct when an institu- 21 tion of higher education shall waive the requirement 22 of subparagraph (B) or (C), or both, of paragraph 23 (1) for an individual to qualify as a Dreamer stu- 24 dent under such paragraph, if the individual— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:17 Mar 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1298.IH H1298 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 1298 IH ‘‘(A) demonstrates compelling cir- 1 cumstances for the inability to satisfy the re- 2 quirement of such subparagraph (B) or (C), or 3 both; and 4 ‘‘(B) satisfies the requirement of para- 5 graph (1)(D).’’. 6 SEC. 3. FEDERAL AID ELIGIBILITY. 7 Section 484(a)(5) of the Higher Education Act of 8 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1091(a)(5)) is amended by inserting ‘‘a 9 Dreamer student (as defined in section 124(f)),’’ after 10 ‘‘permanent resident of the United States,’’. 11 SEC. 4. REPEAL OF PROHIBITION. 12 Section 505 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and 13 Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1623) is 14 repealed. 15 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:17 Mar 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1298.IH H1298 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS