Thread: UNC Students Stand Up for University Access For Illegals

UNC students stand up for university access for illegals

Rallies and petitions spread across state system this week

By Kristin Collins - Staff Writer
Published: Fri, Apr. 03, 2009 02:00AMModified Fri, Apr. 03, 2009 01:13PM

Students across the University of North Carolina system this week are staging rallies and signing petitions, saying it's time to stand up in support of illegal immigrants who want to go to college.

The students leading the effort say this is a critical time for undocumented students in North Carolina.

The N.C. Community College System is considering whether it should allow them to attend, and several bills are pending in the legislature -- some that would deny illegal immigrants access to higher education and some that would guarantee their right to it.

At the federal level, members of Congress are once again considering the DREAM Act, which would allow some students who came into the U.S. illegally to attend college and earn citizenship.

"Every year more and more students are denied access to college and their lives are ruined," said Ronald Bilbao, a UNC-Chapel Hill senior who founded the statewide College Access Coalition last year. "If people start making noise, then perhaps our politicians will do something about it."

Higher education for illegal immigrants has become a charged issue in North Carolina in the past few years. A 2005 effort to allow illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition at community colleges and universities failed after a ferocious public outcry. And in late 2007, the community college system provoked another statewide controversy by changing its policy to allow illegal immigrants at all 58 campuses.

Under intense pressure, the community colleges have since closed their degree programs to those who can't prove legal residency while the colleges study the issue, a process that could take more than a year. Those who oppose allowing illegal immigrant students say that only legal residents should have the benefit of scarce public resources, such as university slots.

A U.S. Supreme Court decision guarantees illegal immigrants the right to attend public elementary and secondary schools.

Students who participated in this week's events, which included rallies at UNC-CH and N.C. State University and a large walkout at UNC-Asheville, say they think all people should have the right to an education. They point out that undocumented students pay out-of-state tuition, which means their attendance at colleges and universities costs the state nothing.

"It's just basic human rights," said Jezzette Danielle Rivera, a junior at NCSU whose grandparents emigrated from Mexico. "Denying a person the right to learn is just unfair."

Many students said their main goal this week was to help other students understand the issue. They said many have come to think reflexively of undocumented immigrants as criminals who fail to pay taxes and don't want to become American citizens. They say that's not the case with immigrant students who want to attend college.

"We're talking about kids who came here at 2, 3, 4 years old," said Alikhan Salehi, one of the leaders of the events at UNCA. "These are American kids. They're part of our family. They're here, and they just want the chance."

Bilbao said the student activists plan to continue their efforts after this week's events end.

kristin.collins@newsobserver.com or 919-829-4881

http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1469476.html

And we Americans are made by international law to give K-12 education to immigrant students, which is truly not fair. In other words Americans have been overly generous in my opinion. We are not even checking with E-Verify to make sure the parents of these K-12 students can even work in the United States.

Remember now the Grade Point Averages (GPA) are and have been effected by the undocumented immigrant students. Even this is not fair for American Students and US citizen/parents. Many American Students have been knocked out of higher class ranking due to the undocumented/ illegal immigrant students via the GPA.

The reduced class rankings have kept many American Students from going to college due to undocumented immigrant students. I have seen this happen.

I truly fear the reactions when American Parents wake up to this fact of Grade Point Averages and how their children have been cheated out of college.

Students who participated in this week's events, which included rallies at UNC-CH and N.C. State University and a large walkout at UNC-Asheville, say they think all people should have the right to an education. They point out that undocumented students pay out-of-state tuition, which means their attendance at colleges and universities costs the state nothing.

Not to be bitter with these young people but someone needs to let them know what it costs for their illegal family as far as medical (anchor babies),jobs taken from Americans,benefits recieved,falsified papers which in some cases leads to identity theft.

Still taking slots from American kids

"It's just basic human rights," said Jezzette Danielle Rivera, a junior at NCSU whose grandparents emigrated from Mexico. "Denying a person the right to learn is just unfair."

They get an education up to college and a human right? So why don't you get your education in your OWN HOMELAND? Or is it not a human right there?

These are college students? Goodness, what are they learning? Not arithmetic for sure. If you have too much supply of legal and illegal vying for a limited number of seats in the classes, why should illegal be given even a chance of competing with legal students? What happens when they all graduate and go out into the workforce? The illegal is competing with the legal graduate for the jobs, which seem to be disappearing daily.
The illegal parents came over here mostly for minimum wage jobs, but once that kid has graduated college, he/she will no longer consider working a minimum-wage job--so what happens is we import more illegals to fill the minimum-wage jobs, who also import their kids, which we educate K-12 at taxpayer expense and end up stealing college seats and jobs from legal Americans. This is turning into a vicious cycle.

VMonkey, Provision of K-12 for illegal aliens is not required under international law. It arose here because of a narrow decision in the United States Supreme Court.

If the state is subsidizing out of state tuition it is still a cost to the state to have illegal alien students filling seats. If that is not the case I would be open to their attendence iin some cases Continuing Ed and Distance Ed are better alternatives for compromise.