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St. Thomas Law Review

First Page

68

Document Type

Article

Abstract

This article argues that by denying undocumented children access to higher education, the U.S. government is violating their obligations under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights ("UDHR") and Universal Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ("UCCPR"), as they relate to discrimination of social groups on the basis of national origin. Furthermore, by denying undocumented students access to higher education which is afforded to their American contemporaries, and is provided by the DREAM Act, these undocumented students are being discriminated against participating and contributing in American society and civic life and are being denied the equality of educational opportunity. The right to education, while not recognized as a fundamental right by the U.S. Constitution, is an important driver in American society for creating a less discriminatory and class-based society. For this reason, the U.S. Congress should pass the DREAM Act. This paper will argue that the U.S. has both international and national legal obligations to pass the DREAM Act and further protect undocumented students who qualify under the DREAM Act right to equal access to higher education. Section II of this paper will examine the history of the DREAM Act, the provisions of the DREAM Act of 2011, and the states' individual responses to this issue, with a particular focus on the New York, California, and Alabama bills respectively. Section III of this paper will discuss the U.S. Constitutional framework as it relates to education and undocumented students. Section [V will examine the lack of educational opportunity for undocumented students in the U.S. and how that translates into a lack of meaningful participation in modem American civic society. Section V will discuss the intersection between the U.S. and international human rights frameworks. Section VI will examine general international human rights framework generally, and as related to the rights of children and the Convention on the Rights of the Child ("CRC"). Section VII of this paper will discuss the right to education within the international human rights framework. Section VII of this paper will discuss the obligations that the U.S. has under international human rights law to avoid discrimination.

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