When the DREAM Act of 2010 failed to pass in the Senate last December, students working with the Maryland Dream Youth Committee decided to revamp their game plan.  

"We still need to plan things out and figure out what we can do," said Roberto Juarez, founder of the committee. 

The youth committee has met several times this new year to strategize and figure out how they will spread the word about their new goal: Lobbying for a state DREAM Act that will allow children of undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition at Maryland public colleges and universities—if certain conditions are met. 

The bill, SB167, was introduced to the General Assembly on Jan. 24, 2011. If passed, the legislation would be effective starting July 2011. Students who attended Maryland private or public high schools for at least two years would be allowed to pay in-state tuition as long as they provide the college or university with documentation proving their parent or guardian paid Maryland state income tax.  

Additionally, individuals who are not permanent residents would have to submit a signed affidavit to the public college or university that states their intention to apply for permanent residency "within 30 days after the individual becomes eligible to do so." The bill would also cover those who apply to Maryland state schools no more than three years after high school graduation or receiving an equivalent of a high school diploma in the state.

Albert Einstein High School senior and student activist Victor Benitez said one goal is to find more "Dreamers" to share their stories and struggles as children of undocumented parents. It's about "touching lives," Benitez said. They plan to share the Dreamers' aspirations of obtaining a college education. Benitez and Juarez are very aware that any DREAM legislation, whether federal or in-state, will polarize opinion.

"There might be less of a wall if they hear the human side of the story," Benitez said.

Another aim of the youth committee is to dispel myths people might believe about the cost and burden to the state if Dreamers are allowed to pay in-state tuition. They argue that the state investing in their education in public elementary and high school will pay off when they graduate and become working professionals.  

"That's what we want to focus on, them being able to afford college," Benitez said. 

The committee also plans to communicate with newly elected state representatives to gain support, but the youth committee isn't the only group who plans to take the DREAM Act to representatives.

Brad Botwin, founder of Help Save Maryland, a volunteer grassroots organization on the opposite side of the DREAM Act debate, said there was a reason the federal legislation wasn't successful and that the group plans to share the detriments of SB 167 before the bill is addressed in House and Senate committee hearings.

"It was back-door amnesty, that's why it died," he said. "We will be in Annapolis testifying against the bill."

But whether or not Maryland passes state DREAM Act legislation, students of undocumented parents still won't be U.S. citizens. The possibility of a path to citizenship for children of undocumented parents is on hold, but according to Juarez, the DREAM isn't dead. Benitez agrees and said that good did come from their previous efforts.

"Now a lot of people know who we are, a lot of people know what the DREAM Act stands for," he said.

Opponents of in-state tuition are focused on the here and now, on the present financial costs, Benitez said.

"Once they graduate, the kids that go to school, before you know it, you'll start benefitting from them because they start paying their taxes, they get their own houses, get good paying jobs," he explained.

Though Benitez said that Dreamers will be an asset to the state in the long run and not a financial burden, Botwin said he thinks that money should not be spent on people who are not able to work.

"It's really a dollar and cents issue," Botwin said. “At the college level, I think it is disgraceful to support someone who is still not hirable. So why would I want to educate them any further because they still can’t work here, because they don’t have a visa? If they want to save their nickels and dimes and then go and pay out-of-state tuition, God bless 'em. They can do that."