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 determined 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 status, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Higher Education 

5 Dream Act of 2019’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. HIGHER EDUCATION FOR DREAMER STUDENTS. 

2 Part B of title I of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

3 (20 U.S.C. 1011 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

4 the following: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 124. NONDISCRIMINATION AGAINST DREAMER STU6 DENTS IN HIGHER EDUCATION. 

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—An institution of higher edu8 cation that receives Federal funds or financial assistance 

9 under any Federal program shall not discriminate or take 

10 adverse action against a Dreamer student on the basis of 

11 that individual’s immigration status. 

12 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—An institution of higher edu13 cation that receives Federal funds or financial assistance 

14 under any Federal program shall not prohibit a Dreamer 

15 student from applying for admission, nor shall it prohibit 

16 a Dreamer student who is accepted to that institution 

17 from enrolling. 

18 ‘‘(c) ADMISSIONS.—An institution of higher edu19 cation that receives Federal funds or financial assistance 

20 under any Federal program shall not discriminate against 

21 or penalize in the admissions process a Dreamer student 

22 who is otherwise qualified for admission to the institution, 

23 on the basis of that individual’s immigration status, nor 

24 shall such an institution differentiate in the admissions 

25 process on the basis of residency between a United States 


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1 citizen applicant and a Dreamer student applying from the 

2 same State. 

3 ‘‘(d) TUITION RATE.—An institution of higher edu4 cation that receives Federal funds or financial assistance 

5 under any Federal program shall not charge a greater rate 

6 of tuition than the rate charged for residents of the State 

7 in which the institution is located to a Dreamer student 

8 who, but for such individual’s immigration status, other9 wise qualifies as a resident of the State in which the insti10 tution is located. 

11 ‘‘(e) CONFIDENTIALITY OF INFORMATION.— 

12 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITION.—No officer or employee of 

13 the United States, of a State, or of an institution of 

14 higher education that receives Federal funds or fi15 nancial assistance under any Federal program to 

16 which a Dreamer student applies for admission or 

17 enrolls, may— 

18 ‘‘(A) use the information furnished by the 

19 Dreamer student to arrest, detain, or initiate 

20 removal proceedings against any person identi21 fied in that information; 

22 ‘‘(B) make any publication whereby the in23 formation furnished by any particular Dreamer 

24 student can be identified; or 


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1 ‘‘(C) permit anyone other than an officer 

2 or employee of the Federal Government or the 

3 institution of higher education to which a 

4 Dreamer student applies or enrolls, to examine 

5 any information provided by a Dreamer student 

6 relating to that individual’s immigration status 

7 or qualifications to be a Dreamer student. 

8 ‘‘(2) PENALTY.—Whoever knowingly uses, pub9 lishes, or permits information to be examined in vio10 lation of this subsection shall be fined not more than 

11 $50,000. 

12 ‘‘(f) DEFINITION OF DREAMER STUDENT.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In this section, the term 

14 ‘Dreamer student’ means an individual who— 

15 ‘‘(A) as defined in section 101 of the Im16 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

17 1101)— 

18 ‘‘(i) is not a national of the United 

19 States; 

20 ‘‘(ii) maintains a residence in the 

21 United States; 

22 ‘‘(iii) does not possess a valid immi23 grant visa, a valid nonimmigrant visa, or 

24 equivalent document demonstrating a lawVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:17 Mar 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1298.IH H1298

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1 ful immigration status in the United 

2 States; and 

3 ‘‘(iv) is not considered to be a non4 immigrant solely due to the application of 

5 section 244(f)(4) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 

6 1254a(f)(4)); 

7 ‘‘(B) was younger than 18 years of age on 

8 the date on which the individual initially en9 tered the United States; 

10 ‘‘(C) has provided a list of each secondary 

11 school that the student attended in the United 

12 States; and 

13 ‘‘(D)(i) has earned a high school diploma, 

14 the recognized equivalent of such diploma from 

15 a secondary school, or a high school equivalency 

16 diploma in the United States or is scheduled to 

17 complete the requirements for such a diploma 

18 or equivalent before the next academic year be19 gins; 

20 ‘‘(ii) has acquired a degree from an institu21 tion of higher education or is enrolled in a pro22 gram for a baccalaureate degree or higher de23 gree at an institution of higher education in the 

24 United States; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) at any time was eligible for a grant 

2 of deferred action under— 

3 ‘‘(I) the June 15, 2012, memorandum 

4 from the Secretary of Homeland Security 

5 entitled ‘Exercising Prosecutorial Discre6 tion with Respect to Individuals Who 

7 Came to the United States as Children’; or 

8 ‘‘(II) the November 20, 2014, memo9 randum from the Secretary of Homeland 

10 Security entitled ‘Exercising Prosecutorial 

11 Discretion with Respect to Individuals 

12 Who Came to the United States as Chil13 dren and with Respect to Certain Individ14 uals Who Are the Parents of U.S. Citizens 

15 or Permanent Residents’; or 

16 ‘‘(iv) has served in the uniformed services, 

17 as defined in section 101 of title 10, United 

18 States Code, for not less than 4 years and, if 

19 discharged, received an honorable discharge. 

20 ‘‘(2) HARDSHIP EXCEPTION.—The Secretary 

21 shall issue regulations that direct when an institu22 tion of higher education shall waive the requirement 

23 of subparagraph (B) or (C), or both, of paragraph 

24 (1) for an individual to qualify as a Dreamer stu25 dent under such paragraph, if the individual— 


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1 ‘‘(A) demonstrates compelling cir2 cumstances for the inability to satisfy the re3 quirement of such subparagraph (B) or (C), or 

4 both; and 

5 ‘‘(B) satisfies the requirement of para6 graph (1)(D).’’. 

7 SEC. 3. FEDERAL AID ELIGIBILITY. 

8 Section 484(a)(5) of the Higher Education Act of 

9 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1091(a)(5)) is amended by inserting ‘‘a 

10 Dreamer student (as defined in section 124(f)),’’ after 

11 ‘‘permanent resident of the United States,’’. 

12 SEC. 4. REPEAL OF PROHIBITION. 

13 Section 505 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and 

14 Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1623) is 

15 repealed. 

Æ 


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