Thread: Student group offers support for undocumented students

Student group offers support for undocumented students

Dream Act faces tough road ahead but offers students hope for amnesty

By EDWARD SIFUENTES - Staff Writer | Saturday, April 4, 2009 9:07 PM PDT ∞

SAN MARCOS ---- Local students brought into the country illegally as children now have a reason to dream about becoming U.S. citizens even though it may not happen this year.

Lawmakers in Congress recently introduced the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act ---- DREAM Act for short ----- that would give students a chance to legalize their status if they complete two years of college or serve two years in the military.

Groups on both sides of the immigration debate say the bill is unlikely to be approved this year, but a Cal State San Marcos student group is advocating for the legislation.

"If we keep pushing it, something will happen and I'll be ready," said a 20-year-old student at Cal State San Marcos who did not want her name published because she is an illegal immigrant.

She helped found the group, called Espiritu de Nuestro Futuro, Spanish for Spirit of Our Future, three years ago. It is a part advocacy and part support group for illegal immigrant students, many of whom have been raised in the U.S. and for whom Mexico is only a distant memory.

"I want to say that I'm an American because I feel like I'm an American," said the student. But "no, you are not."

Cause for hope?

The bill was introduced late last month in the Senate and House of Representatives by a bipartisan group of lawmakers, including Sens. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., and Richard Lugar, R-Ind.; and Reps. Howard Berman, D-Van Nuys, and Lincoln Diaz-Balart, R-Fla.

Groups that support the bill say an estimated 65,000 illegal immigrant students graduate from U.S. high schools each year. Most of the students have a hard time finding work or continuing their education because of their immigration status.

No one knows exactly how many illegal immigrant students there are in North County, or anywhere in the country, because schools don't collect such data.

They are required by law to educate students regardless of immigration status.

Groups say it will be tough for the bill, which was first introduced in 2001, to clear Congress this year because much of Washington's attention will be on the struggling economy.

The bill has repeatedly failed to reach the president's desk as Congress struggles to find an answer to fix what most people agree is a broken immigration system.

North County congressional representatives have opposed legislation legalizing people who came into the country illegally.

Reps. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, and Duncan D. Hunter, R-El Cajon, said they oppose the measure. Rep. Mary Bono Mack, R-Palm Springs, said through a spokeswoman that she has not taken a position on the bill.

Rep. Brian Bilbray, R-Solana Beach, said he also opposes the bill.

"I do not believe we should spend one dollar of taxpayer funds to support illegal immigration, which is what the Dream Act wants to do," Bilbray said in a written statement.

Supporters, such as the National Council of La Raza, a Latino civil rights organization, say that it is precisely because of the bad economy that the bill should be passed. They argue that better educated students contribute more to the nation than those who get discouraged and drop out.

"Since the Dream Act was first introduced in 2001, too many of our nation's best and brightest students have graduated from high school with no prospect of going to college," said Janet Murguia, the group's president. "We cannot continue to waste this talent."

Opponents argue the opposite. They say American students should not have to compete for admissions, classrooms and funding with illegal immigrant students at a time when budgets at public colleges are shrinking.

"Universities are in trouble," said Ira Mehlman, a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a group that opposes the Dream Act. "How can you have legislation that not only takes seats away from American students, but subsidizes illegal immigrant students education?"

Amnesty?

Mehlman said the Dream Act is a wide-ranging amnesty bill because it allows people up to 35 years old to legalize their status as long as they attend a school.

Opponents also argue that children who legalize their immigration status through the bill would be able to sponsor other family members ---- who are either here illegally or in Mexico waiting to come ---- once they become adults.

The illegal immigrant student at Cal State San Marcos said she sees a good opportunity for the bill to pass this year. She cited the new Obama administration, which has signaled its support for immigration reform that includes a legalization component, and the increased Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress.

She said her parents brought her into the U.S. from Mexico when she was 4 years old. She depends on private scholarships, financial help from friends and income from a part-time job as a real estate agent's assistant to pay her tuition.

Sitting at a Cal State San Marcos coffee shop on Thursday, she and her friends discussed their struggles to continue their education.

They call themselves "AB 540 students" ---- after the Assembly bill signed into law by then-Gov. Gray Davis allowing them to pay in-state tuition rates, instead of the higher out-of-state tuition fees that students from other states pay.

The state Legislative Analysts Office estimates there are about 20,000 immigrant students who receive the lower in-state tuition rates under AB 540. It estimated that most of them, about 18,000, are illegal immigrants. The subsidy costs the state about $117 million, according to the analysis.

Another student who is a member of the Espiritu group said illegal immigrant students have to work as hard if not harder to get ahead than other students. She said they should be allowed to compete on their merit for admission and tuition assistance.

It makes no sense to leave them out in the cold when taxpayers, including their parents, have already invested so much on their education, she said.

Even though they get in-state tuition fees, they must pay most of their school fees out of pocket because they can't access public funding.

Unfair?

The group, which has dozens of members, helps students exchange information about scholarships, find support from others who are struggling with the same problems and channels their frustrations into activism and community service, according to the student members interviewed Thursday.

"A lot of students become discouraged and drop out because they haven't received information," said a 19-year-old student, who is studying business at Palomar College, but did not want her name revealed because she is also an illegal immigrant.

Sitting across from her two friends, Veronica Mendez, 19, said she sympathizes. Her family came into the country illegally, she said, but was able to legalize its status under an amnesty bill signed into law by President Ronald Reagan in 1986.

"They work so hard," Mendez said. "I feel privileged because of a little card. I don't think it's fair."

REGION: California bucks immigration enforcement trend

Some activists criticize 'Dream Act' as a draft for illegal immigrants

Contact staff writer Edward Sifuentes at (760) 740-3511 or esifuentes@nctimes.com.

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2009/04 ... 583b37.txt

"If we keep pushing it, something will happen and I'll be ready," said a 20-year-old student at Cal State San Marcos who did not want her name published because she is an illegal immigrant.

She helped found the group, called Espiritu de Nuestro Futuro, Spanish for Spirit of Our Future, three years ago. It is a part advocacy and part support group for illegal immigrant students, many of whom have been raised in the U.S. and for whom Mexico is only a distant memory.

Another hispanic advocacy group! What a surprise!!

If mexico is nothing more than a distant memory, then why is your group named in spanish and not English? Perhaps the memories are not as distant as you claim them to be!!

Originally Posted by NoBueno

"If we keep pushing it, something will happen and I'll be ready," said a 20-year-old student at Cal State San Marcos who did not want her name published because she is an illegal immigrant.

She helped found the group, called Espiritu de Nuestro Futuro, Spanish for Spirit of Our Future, three years ago. It is a part advocacy and part support group for illegal immigrant students, many of whom have been raised in the U.S. and for whom Mexico is only a distant memory.

Another hispanic advocacy group! What a surprise!!

If mexico is nothing more than a distant memory, then why is your group named in spanish and not English? Perhaps the memories are not as distant as you claim them to be!!

They know there is strength only in numbers, so will retain their native language to get OTHER followers and advocates.