Members of the state Assembly will vote Friday on a bill that could fling open the doors to higher education for undocumented students by offering them public money for college.

For students, the bill is the most critical component of the California Dream Act. It is also the most controversial. AB 131 would let immigrants apply for and receive state grants, university scholarships and fee waivers – the same aid offered to legal residents.

Its passage would mark a sweet victory for immigration-reform advocates and open up a world of opportunities for undocumented students who can't afford college. It would also fuel the ire of conservatives and anti-immigrant groups, some of whom call the bill unfair and fiscally irresponsible. The additional public scholarships would cost the state about $32.2 million.

The Assembly Committee on Appropriations takes up AB 131 today. Because 12 of the 17 committee members are Democrats, proponents say they're confident the bill will pass and move to the full Assembly for a vote. It would then have to pass a Senate vote. Both bodies are Democratic-controlled.

Earlier this month, the Assembly passed AB 130 – the other half of the Dream Act – which would allow undocumented students to get scholarships through the University of California, even those from private funds.

Gov. Jerry Brown said earlier he would sign the Dream Act if it comes to his desk.

At California State University, Fresno, undocumented students make up less than 1% of the student body. But Raul Moreno, coordinator of university migrant services at Fresno State, said more would enroll if they could get state funding.

Undocumented students can't qualify for state and federal aid, so many work their way through college. A few, such as recent Fresno State graduate and former student government President Pedro Ramirez, rely on assistance from private individuals.

College is not an option for "a huge majority" of undocumented students who qualify but have no way to pay for it, Moreno said.

The new law "would open the door," Moreno said. "This would tell the students, 'Look, the state can help you go to college.' "

In 2010-11, 267 students were enrolled at Fresno State under AB 540, which allows nonresident students to pay in-state tuition. The group includes undocumented immigrants, military members and others. AB 131 would apply to all students in this category.

Fresno higher education officials, some of the bill's strongest advocates, say it would give undocumented students access to the same state resources as other students.

"These students have every right to be here," said Paul Oliaro, vice president of student affairs at Fresno State. "This is a step in the right direction."

Fresno State junior Alex Chavez agrees. The 20-year-old has the grades and ambition of any successful college student but was able to enroll only through the generosity of a woman in Visalia who saw his potential and offered to help pay his way.

Chavez's story mirrors that of so many undocumented students: at age 3, he and his brother were loaded into a pickup and driven across the Mexican border to meet their mother, who had immigrated to California illegally months before. His parents found work and earned enough that Chavez, always a strong student, was certain college was in his future.

But when Chavez was a sophomore at Tulare Union High School, his father received a deportation notice, lost his job, and was sent back to Mexico two years later. Chavez's mother scraped together enough money by cleaning houses in Visalia to send him to community college. Then one of her customers offered to pay Chavez's tuition, and he transferred to Fresno State last semester.