Previous |
Next |
June 16, 2010, 10:00 PM ET
The 'Undocumented' Debate and Admissions
The immigration debate has swept through state houses, town squares, and NBA arenas. And this week it came to the nation's most famous campus.
On Monday, Eric Balderas, an undocumented student who attends Harvard University, was detained by immigration officials at a Texas airport. Mr. Balderas, who has lived in the United States illegally since he was 4, now faces the possibility of deportation. In an interview with The Boston Globe, Mr. Balderas, a biology major, said: "I honestly never thought I'd make it into college because of my status, but I just really enjoyed school too much and I gave it a shot."
The case has rallied immigration advocates who support the passage of the federal Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act (or Dream Act). The legislation would allow states to charge illegal immigrant in-state tuition. It would also provide a path to citizenship for some residents who were brought to the United States illegally as children. At the moment, the Dream Act is stalled on Capitol Hill.
Politics aside, the plight of undocumented students cuts to the core of college admissions. The questions that inspired the Dream Act relate directly to how high schools and colleges do the delicate work of matching and sorting students in an increasingly diverse nation. And the case of Mr. Balderas is a reminder that each year colleges and universities—including the nation's most prestigious—enroll an estimated 13,000 undocumented students.
Nationally, more than 70 percent of the public universities and more than half of private colleges receive applications from undocumented students, according to findings released on Wednesday by the National Association for College Admission Counseling (known as NACAC). Among the most-selective institutions surveyed, nearly 90 percent reported receiving applications from undocumented students.
Yet Mari Solivan, director of government relations and advocacy for the College Board, notes that a much greater number of undocumented students who graduate from high school do not go on to attend college. Many cannot afford to do so: Under the law, they are ineligible for most forms of financial aid and unable to work.
"Educators are really put in a very difficult position with regard to this population," says Ms. Solivan, who coordinates the College Board's advocacy on behalf of the Dream Act. "From the K-12 side, your mission is to best serve these students and help them find ways to meet their highest potential, the school that's the best fit. From the higher-education side, colleges want to put together the best possible class. … This poses a real conflict."
Both the College Board and NACAC support the Dream Act, which Congress may or may not take up anytime soon. Meanwhile, the debate over undocumented students will likely flare up on many campuses.
Just last week, Georgia's State Board of Regents approved plans to appoint a committee that will explore ways of checking the immigration status of all students, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The decision followed a controversy at Kennesaw State University, which recently discovered that an undocumented student had been paying in-state tuition instead of the higher out-of-state rate, as required by law.
In recent years, several college presidents—including Harvard's Drew Gilpin Faust—have publicly pledged their support for the Dream Act. Especially in an era when many colleage leaders are risk-averse, such statements stand out, according to Ms. Solivan. "We've been trying to frame the debate from an educational standpoint," she says. "There are students who are here, they've grown up here, and they are attending our K-12 schools. And we have every indication that they want to go to college."
Comments
1. avazquez12 - June 17, 2010 at 11:01 am
Please, the debate is good for there is a need to continue the conversation and dialogue required to inform the public about the conditions and the mis-opportunities of these students, especially, at the community colleges in this nation, According to some statisticians just in 2009 in some states had over 5-6,000 students in limbo concerning their higher education status because we are not talking about it, the "Dream Act" is only the beginning of the conversation we still need additional reforms to get this talented students to perform in our job market.
According to an article in Newsweek (Meacham, Jan. 26, 2009) “Who We Are Now", "Immigration has made our country better, which is encouraging, since by mid-century, the United States is expected to have a majority of minorities”on other words, Lets make these coming years the Dream Act years.
2. davi2665 - June 17, 2010 at 01:21 pm
Immigration has indeed made our country better, particularly when done legally. An unstated question in these difficult situations of "undocumented" students is why the parent(s) were able to remain in the country illegally long enough to raise the child from the age of 4 without anyone noticing. Porous borders, a willingness to flaunt the law relating to legal immigration, and the growing anger at this issue in the face of the exploding state budget deficits and the national pandering to "undocumented" persons in the US has the potential to be even more explosively divisive in the future than it is now.
3. abichel - June 17, 2010 at 03:51 pm
Any resource directed towards an illegal alien is a resource taken from the mouths of Americans. How many deserving citizens were denied entrance to college because someone living in the country illegally was given their rightful place and/or scholarship? As one might expect, the academe vindicates it's own complicity in the problem of encouraging and perpetuating illegal immigration by rightously charging "out of state" tuition for student's so embroilled. So despite all the moralizing that takes place on campuses about this issue, all that really seems to matter is the cash they take in along the way. How noble.
4. jsch0602 - June 17, 2010 at 04:38 pm
Private schools like Harvard should focus on teaching illegal immigrant students. In state tuition at state schools is for legal state residents.
5. nacrandell - June 17, 2010 at 06:00 pm
This sounds like a nice idea, however, with a finite freshman class number, what happens to the "other" applicant?
What happens to the applicant whose spot was taken illegally? The unknown applicant allows a soft approach to illegal aliens in U.S. schools. We have the national and local news giving "aw shucks let him/her stay" because the consequence of the other applicant is not known.
6. honore - June 17, 2010 at 11:36 pm
whose dream?
7. uiipbir - June 18, 2010 at 04:56 pm
The idea that ”Any resource directed towards an illegal alien is a resource taken from the mouths of Americans. How many deserving citizens were denied entrance to college because someone living in the country illegally was given their rightful place and/or scholarship?”.
Repeating this over and over seems to convince the gullible, but in fact the vast majority of colleges in the US (1) do not have a limited number of seats but rather admit all who are qualified, and (2) offer scholarships based on merit and need. If there are US citizens who deserve these, they will get them. It seems absurd to deny undocumented aliens educational opportunities in order to provide opportunities to less deserving, less well-qualified citizens, who will likely contribute less to the US economy and quality of life after being given those opportunities.
8. crunchycon - June 18, 2010 at 05:03 pm
#7 - perhaps YOUR university will take everyone who qualifies, but many of us are at selective, public and private, universities that turn away thousands every year. Any place taken by an "illegal" IS likely a place not filled by a qualified citizen.
9. honore - June 20, 2010 at 09:45 pm
crunchycon...thank you for stating the apparently not-so-obvious (to some)...thanks again
Add Your Comment
Commenting is closed.