Esaul Mendoza, a flashy forward, led Orange County high school soccer players in scoring, often with the help of teammate Irving Islas, a sturdy midfielder. Goalkeeper Hilario Arriaga, with his guile and agility, kept opponents from scoring.
The trio of seniors formed the nucleus of an Estancia High team that won the Southern Section Division IV boys' soccer championship last spring, and caught the attention of college recruiters.
But now the cheering has stopped and graduation day has passed and the boys don't feel much like champions anymore. Mendoza, Islas and Arriaga--who played their hearts out for a chance at a college scholarship or a spot on the U.S. national team--abruptly learned that their status as illegal immigrants might dash their dreams.
Universities and community colleges seem no longer interested and the boys face an uncertain future.
What happened to Mendoza, 17, Islas 19, and Arriaga, 17, isn't all that rare.
There are more than 800,000 illegal immigrants under the age of 18 in California, said Harry Pachon, president of the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute in Claremont, which specializes in Latino issues. Hundreds are Southland high school athletes, whose status bars them from taking their games to the next level in the United States.
What is unusual, however, is that the three have Estancia Coach Steve Crenshaw on their side. He is helping them navigate legal hurdles to seek a student visa and other documentation that will allow them to pursue a college education and a chance to play the sport they love. He is not deterred by the uphill battle the boys face.
"I never anticipated that it would be easy," Crenshaw said. "I'm not throwing up my hands."
Just as illegal immigrants are limited in their ability to get a driver's license or attain a work permit, their ability to enter a U.S. college or university is jeopardized.
Setting legal issues aside, many soccer officials lament that immigrant youngsters who were coached and groomed in the U.S. don't have the opportunity to go on to play for a college or university--or the national team.
"There are numerous cases of kids [who] had the talent . . . but have had to stop short because of their citizenship problems," said Steve Sampson, former U.S. national men's team coach and now a director with the California Youth Soccer Assn. "The kids get punished and we get punished because of our inability to integrate them into the national-team process."
