Undocumented college students can access pandemic aid, Biden administration says, reversing Trump rule

The Biden administration announced on Tuesday it will allow undocumented college students, including so-called "Dreamers," to access federal coronavirus relief aid, reversing Trump-era guidance that rendered them ineligible for the assistance allocated by Congress.

New rules by the Department of Education allow undocumented immigrant students, including those protected from deportation by the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, to request the aid, as long as they have been enrolled at a U.S. college or university since March 13, 2020, when the U.S. declared a national emergency over the coronavirus. Refugees, asylum-seekers and undocumented immigrants who are not enrolled in DACA are also eligible for the grants, the department clarified Tuesday, saying the Trump-era limits blocked aid for the country's "most needy and vulnerable students."