Undocumented Students

Anngie Gutierrez was a child when she arrived in the United States as an illegal immigrant 10 years ago. There's still no path to legal status for her, but in Maryland and a handful of other states, there is a more affordable road to college. Gutierrez, a high school junior in Hyattsville, Md., will benefit from a new state law that allows illegal immigrants who reside there to pay in-state tuition rates at Maryland's public colleges. If she lived in Virginia, about 15 miles to the west, she would find that many public colleges require undocumented students to pay out-of-state tuition.

A group of Silicon Valley technology leaders is working to help undocumented students attend college, prepare for jobs and, when possible, find ways to legalize their status. The group, described by Palm Pilot inventor Jeff Hawkins as a loose coalition, is looking to provide assistance and guidance to students in the absence of legislation such as the Dream Act, which would create a path to citizenship for young illegal immigrants who are college students and military service members.

They were both working-class girls from Southern California immigrant families. One was of Vietnamese heritage, the other Mexican. One was reserved, the other vivacious. Both surmounted hardships to graduate from UCLA and be admitted to prestigious East Coast universities for graduate studies. And both shared a particular passion: a commitment to assist undocumented students like themselves attend college, attain legal status and escape the shadow existence of illegal immigrants.

Many Californians worry that they are being priced out of the state's public university systems, and they object to allowing illegal immigrants the same financial aid that U.S. citizens can receive at the campuses, a new poll has found. Fifty-five percent of the voters questioned said they oppose a new state law known as the California DREAM Act. It will permit undocumented students who graduated from California high schools and meet other requirements to receive taxpayer aid to attend the University of California, Cal State and community colleges starting in 2013.

The college dreams of thousands of students who are illegal immigrants moved closer to fulfillment Wednesday after the state Senate approved a bill that for the first time would give them access to public financial aid. Part of a two-bill package known as the California Dream Act, the measure would allow undocumented students who qualify for reduced in-state tuition to apply for Cal Grants, community college waivers and other public aid programs....

Monday's decision by the University of California and the California State University to raise student fees has placed a harsh new spotlight on college affordability. Lost in the debate over access are thousands of high-achieving students in California who find they are unable to afford college because they were brought into this country illegally as children -- and hence are ineligible for state and federal financial aid.

It happened again this semester. A student came to my office and asked me to close the door. After going through this drill so many times before, I knew what would come next. In a process akin to "coming out of the closet," these students reveal to me their terrible secret: They are undocumented immigrants. I am a community college professor. In addition to teaching, my role includes mentoring students, helping them achieve their academic and career goals, and identifying the brightest ones to become role models, tutors and peer mentors.

Pete Tafoya, President, Board of Trustees, Ventura County Community College District Let me approach the answer from the position of the court case, "Leticia A," in which a Superior Court judge ruled in favor of lower fees for undocumented Cal State University students. For those residents who are either in the transition of becoming a citizen or for whatever reasons haven't become a citizen, I am in favor of that. "Leticia A." pointed out that there are many, many residents of California who have, for whatever reasons, not sought citizenship.

A group of Silicon Valley technology leaders is working to help undocumented students attend college, prepare for jobs and, when possible, find ways to legalize their status. The group, described by Palm Pilot inventor Jeff Hawkins as a loose coalition, is looking to provide assistance and guidance to students in the absence of legislation such as the Dream Act, which would create a path to citizenship for young illegal immigrants who are college students and military service members.

A day after Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law giving thousands of illegal immigrant college students access to private scholarship funds, immigrant advocates said they are aiming for a far bigger prize: California public grants. "It was a good step forward, but the glass is still half-empty," said Ivan Ceja, 19, a Fullerton community college student who was illegally brought to the U.S. from Mexico as a baby. At a Los Angeles town hall gathering Monday, Brown signed into law AB 130, which will allow undocumented students who qualify for reduced in-state tuition to apply for $88 million in private scholarship funds administered by the University of California, Cal State University and the California Community Colleges.

Alabama's Legislature has made children the chief victims of the nation's harshest anti-immigrant law. With its requirement that school officials determine the immigration status of children when they enroll — and with anecdotal reports that students are being grilled by teachers and administrators on the subject — it's small wonder that the absentee rate among Latino children has reportedly skyrocketed. This wrongheaded requirement is part of a law that went into effect this month and that has done little but produce fear and confusion among Alabama's undocumented residents, many of whom are Latino.

Sacramento native Shawn Lewis knows the value of student financial aid. The son of a struggling single mom, Lewis says he never would have been able to attend UC Berkeley without the $24,000 in annual state grants and private scholarships he receives to pursue his political science degree and dreams of law school. But Gov. Jerry Brown is now considering whether to sign landmark legislation that would extend state financial aid to illegal immigrants who are college students. And that makes Lewis anxious.

The college dreams of thousands of students who are illegal immigrants moved closer to fulfillment Wednesday after the state Senate approved a bill that for the first time would give them access to public financial aid. Part of a two-bill package known as the California Dream Act, the measure would allow undocumented students who qualify for reduced in-state tuition to apply for Cal Grants, community college waivers and other public aid programs....

Scores of students, teachers and other advocates for illegal immigrants are launching rallies, phone drives, petition campaigns and other actions this week for what they see as their best hope to win access to public financial aid for undocumented college students. A small rally in downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday was part of a statewide series of actions to prod a state Senate committee this week to allow a floor vote on AB 131, a hotly contested measure that would give undocumented students who qualify for reduced in-state tuition access to nearly $40 million in coveted Cal Grants, community college fee waivers and other public grant and scholarship programs.

Immigration advocates in Texas were heartened last year when the Republican governor, Rick Perry, flatly stated that Arizona's crackdown on illegal immigrants "would not be the right direction for Texas. " But in June, Perry convened a special session of the Legislature, hoping to pass a measure outlawing sanctuary cities — places where police are not allowed to ask people they detain about immigration status. The law, which had already failed during the Legislature's regular session, was defeated a second time thanks to an opposition coalition that included immigration activists as well as law enforcement officials, evangelical pastors and Republican business owners, among them one of Perry's biggest fundraisers.

It happened again this semester. A student came to my office and asked me to close the door. After going through this drill so many times before, I knew what would come next. In a process akin to "coming out of the closet," these students reveal to me their terrible secret: They are undocumented immigrants. I am a community college professor. In addition to teaching, my role includes mentoring students, helping them achieve their academic and career goals, and identifying the brightest ones to become role models, tutors and peer mentors.

During the last four years, UC students have endured two rounds of budget crises, fee increases and a scandal over little-known, lucrative UC executive compensation deals. But one issue that flies under the radar and affects the relationship between the university and our vast immigrant population is the ongoing controversy over equal access for undocumented immigrant students. Caught in the middle of a nationally polarized debate on immigration, a growing number of highly capable students are being left out of the UC's equation because of the inability of Congress to enact comprehensive immigration reform.

A day after Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law giving thousands of illegal immigrant college students access to private scholarship funds, immigrant advocates said they are aiming for a far bigger prize: California public grants. "It was a good step forward, but the glass is still half-empty," said Ivan Ceja, 19, a Fullerton community college student who was illegally brought to the U.S. from Mexico as a baby. At a Los Angeles town hall gathering Monday, Brown signed into law AB 130, which will allow undocumented students who qualify for reduced in-state tuition to apply for $88 million in private scholarship funds administered by the University of California, Cal State University and the California Community Colleges.

Following through on a campaign promise, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law Monday easing access to privately funded financial aid for undocumented college students. He also signaled that he was likely to back a more controversial measure allowing those students to seek state-funded tuition aid in the future. Assemblyman Gil Cedillo (D-Los Angeles), author of the private financial aid measure, described it as an important but incremental step toward expanding opportunities for deserving students who were brought to the U.S. illegally through no choice of their own. Cedillo is pressing ahead with a more expansive measure that would make certain undocumented students eligible for the state's Cal Grants and other forms of state tuition aid. Brown said he was "positively inclined" to back that bill but would not make a decision until it crosses his desk.