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Class scholar in immigration fix

By: Hilary Parker, Staff Writer

Star Princeton graduate is trapped because of his illegal status

While his studies emphasize the history of Greece and Rome, Princeton University Class of 2006 salutatorian Dan-el Padilla Peralta is now a prominent figure in the present United States immigration debate. He is an illegal immigrant.

The uproar over the star student's education may even be serving as an education in its own right, according to U.S. Rep. Rush Holt (D-12).

"I imagine that there are a lot of Americans who would be surprised to know how many highly educated, highly motivated professional quality workers there are in America who are undocumented or improperly documented," Rep. Holt said. "The publicity about his case and all the news coverage probably has served to educate the public about the nature of immigration and I think probably fewer people would, after hearing about his case, be so quick to take the Draconian punitive approach to dealing with immigration violations."

After being awarded the 2006 Daniel M. Sachs Class of 1960 Graduating Scholarship to fund two years of study at Oxford University, Mr. Padilla sought Princeton's assistance to change his documentation status so that he can take advantage of the opportunity, he wrote in an essay penned for the June 7 issue of the Princeton Alumni Weekly.

"Because of my undocumented status, I cannot re-enter the United States for 10 years if I depart for Oxford," Mr. Padilla wrote. "At the same time, I have no prospects for employment or graduate work in the United States: I cannot work legally, and no Ph.D. program that requires teaching can support my studies. With Princeton's help, I was set up with an immigration attorney, Stephen Yale-Loehr, who helped me file an application with Citizenship and Immigration Services (successor to the I.N.S.) in April, arguing that the extraordinary circumstances of my childhood impeded my mother and me from normalizing my status."

These extraordinary circumstances include the fact that Mr. Padilla was 4 years old when his parents brought him to the United States from the Dominican Republic on a temporary non-immigrant visa when his mother needed medical attention for potential complications of gestational diabetes. His mother's medical problems continued, and she stayed on in the U.S. with her two sons. Her husband, injured working at a factory, returned to the Dominican Republic in 1993.

His mother was not able to support the family, and moved with the boys to a homeless shelter in the South Bronx, where she contracted tuberculosis. After an art outreach program worked with Mr. Padilla and assisted him with private school applications, he was admitted to Manhattan's Collegiate School. From there, he went on to gain admittance to Princeton.

"It's an extraordinary story," said Princeton spokeswoman Cass Cliatt. "He's an extraordinary young man." Princeton's admission offer to Mr. Padilla was based on his qualifications, she said.

"The university does not take documentation status into account when making decisions about admission," Ms. Cliatt said. "There are no laws or regulations that require the university to consider status or to evaluate status in admission."

While the university's financial-aid office must consider immigrant status when addressing students' eligibility for federal funds or work-study programs, Ms. Cliatt said, Mr. Padilla was able to take advantage of other funds provided by the university and attended Princeton on a full scholarship. The university is fortunate to be able to meet full needs of qualified students without using public funds, she said.

The Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students was aware of Mr. Padilla's status prior to his enrollment, Ms. Cliatt said, and encouraged him to try to obtain a student visa as it has done in other "rare instances" for undocumented accepted students. In Mr. Padilla's case, according to Ms. Cliatt, this proved to be impossible.

Rep. Holt, who sent a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff asking him to facilitate the granting of a retroactive student visa to Mr. Padilla, said he doesn't think universities should focus on their students' documentation status. Universities should educate their students, he said, not investigate their documentation.

"I don't think that universities or other organizations like that should be turned into immigration enforcement agencies," Rep. Holt said.
The congressman noted that Secretary Chertoff has not yet replied to the letter, which pointed out that with the exception of overstaying his visa, Mr. Padilla has not violated any laws. Mr. Padilla took action to "correct his overstay" as soon as he learned this was a possibility, Rep. Holt said.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), whose son, Harrison, was also a member of Princeton class of 2006, did not respond to a request for comment on Mr. Padilla's situation. Sen. Frist attended Tuesday's Commencement ceremonies, where Mr. Padilla delivered the salutatory address.

While the Tennessee Republican voted May 25 in favor of the controversial Senate immigration bill, which contains measures for illegal immigrants in the United States to earn legal status, he previously spoke out against what he described as "amnesty" for illegal immigrants.

The House version of the immigration bill, passed in December, does not contain language on earned legalization — the much-debated "path to citizenship." After passage of the Senate bill, Sen. Frist expressed a desire for the Senate and House to draft a compromise.

Though Mr. Padilla's presence in the country is illegal, the university is under no obligation to report it, Ms. Cliatt said, citing the 1990 Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, which identifies those crimes and activities colleges and universities are required to disclose to authorities. The Clery Act makes no mention of documentation status.

The university has received calls from alumni offering support to Mr. Padilla, Ms. Cliatt said, but federal officials have not contacted the university. The university is following the immigration debate closely and will comply with any changes to current legislation, Ms. Cliatt said.

"This case in particular demonstrates that there are truly extraordinary people living in this country who are out-of-status for reasons beyond their control," she said.

For now, Mr. Padilla's status remains undocumented — and his future uncertain.