Governor Christie Signs NJ DREAM Act

Governor Chris Christie today urged the children of immigrants who came to this country illegally to “make the most of the opportunity to pay in-state tuition at the state’s colleges and universities under the New Jersey Dream Act.

The Republican governor officially signed the legislation in private weeks ago. Today, photographers crowded around him as he signed a reproduction of the bill, flanked by lawmakers instrumental in passing it.

“You’re an inspiration to us because in you we see all that our country can be. In you we see, most importantly, infinite possibilities of the human spirit.

The governor announced his support for the New Jersey Dream Act shortly before winning re-election in November. But after the election he said he opposed a provision that would make students eligible for state financial aid. The bill passed anyway, but without the financial aid piece.

Christie said even those who are “cold hearted about the issue, can’t argue with the economic benefit of extending in-state tuition to students in whom the state already invests tens of thousands of public education dollars.

“An investment made should be an investment maximized, he said.