LOS ANGELES, July 26 (UPI) -- California Gov. Jerry Brown has approved easing financial aid for illegal immigrant college students, a step dear to Latinos.
Brown signed the California Dream Act in a ceremony at Los Angeles City College Monday, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The bill applies only to privately funded aid, but its sponsor, Assemblyman Gil Cedillo, is moving ahead with broader legislation to make some undocumented students eligible for Cal Grants and other kinds of state tuition aid.
Brown said he likes the new bill but will not decide on it unless it is passed.
"I'm committed to expanding opportunity wherever I can find it, and certainly these kinds of bills promote a goal of a more inclusive California and a more educated California," the governor said.
"It's seen as a civil rights issue in the Latino community, especially for youth. ... This is an issue of the now, an issue of the moment, part of the Latino agenda and part of the future," said Jaime Regalado, director of the Pat Brown Institute of Public Affairs -- which is named after the former governor and father of the current governor.
