Harvard President Faust backs Dream Act

Faust and Napolitano are both vocal supporters of the DREAM Act

Support for the Dream Act has drawn another commanding voice in the form of Drew Gilpin Faust, President of Harvard University.

The President of Harvard University acknowledged the need to address US immigration issues associated with past and present students, who through no fault of their own are stuck in legal limbo as illegal citizens wanting to graduate from college and get a good job.

“I believe it is in our best interest to educate all students to their full potential - it vastly improves their lives and grows our communities and economy,” she wrote in a letter to Senators Edward M. Kennedy and John F. Kerry and Representative Michael E. Capuano, thanking them for their support for the legislation. “This bill will help move us closer to this goal.”

The latest version of the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act (Dream Act), which has been floating around congress since 2001, allows undocumented immigrant students who arrived in the US as children and who graduate from US high schools, the opportunity to earn permanent residency by either serving time in the military or completing a college degree.

Faust’s backing is the latest in a growing list. Last month the College Board, the not-for-profit examination board most well known for producing the SAT ‘s, added their clout, followed by Janet Napolitano, the Homeland Security Secretary, who described the Dream Act as ‘a good piece of legislation and a good idea.’