Berkeley Chancellor stays on message for undocumented students

Robert J. Birgeneau, chancellor of UC Berkeley, has never shied away from supporting undocumented students. Last year, he submitted a column for the LA Times, unequivocally supporting "our students":

I say "our students" because that is just who they are. We have invested in these children, providing them access to public education in our K-12 schools. Our teachers have encouraged them to learn, to compete and to succeed. It is only after these eager and ambitious young people gain college admission and apply for state or federal financial aid that we turn them away. We must not penalize these young people because their parents brought them here illegally.

Just a day after Barack Obama was elected into office, he is right on point again, expressing the urgent need for the DREAM Act in the editorial pages of the Daily Cal:

There is one group of students in particular who need your immediate attention-undocumented students. Our failure to give these students a path to success and to citizenship is a terrible waste of young talent-talent that this country desperately needs. Each year across the nation, 50,000 to 60,000 undocumented students graduate from high school after having spent at least five years in this country. The Dream Act, which provided access to financial aid and a thoughtfully mapped-out path to citizenship, became entangled in the failed immigration bill. It is time to revive and pass the act on its own merits.

Thank you, Chancellor Birgeneau. We are looking forward to working with you on passing the DREAM Act.