Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) voted against the DREAM Act today, citing concerns that working-class families are disregarded in favor of illegal immigrants. He noted the similarities between the DREAM Act and Gov. Cuomo’s plan to give a free college education to incarcerated felons. In both cases, lawbreakers would be receiving college tuition assistance and law-abiding families of students would be spending their life savings and borrowing to obtain an education. Hawley issued the following statement:

“The DREAM Act is wrong for the hardworking families of upstate New York who have played by the rules and are still burdened with crushing student loan debt. It’s particularly troubling to pass this exactly one week after the governor rolled out his ill-advised plan to give free college to convicts. Families who are trying to give their kids a better life need and deserve student aid and illegal immigrants and convicts do not.”