Thread: Life After College for Illegal Aliens Paved with Obstacles

Life After College for Undocumented Immigrants Paved with Obstacles

Published October 02, 2011
Fox News Latino

Even with a college degree - the road for educated undocumented immigrants is paved with no.

No immediate pathway to legal status under current federal immigration law.

No jobs because employers cannot legally hire them.

No guarantee of a better future.

When Rhode Island became the thirteenth state to allow in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants at public colleges, supporters heralded the move as one that would give students the kind of advanced education they need to succeed in the work force.

But students who are not here legally may still face a major obstacle even with the benefit of a college degree.

"I know of students who have graduated magna cum laude and top honors in their colleges, but right now they're working minimum wage in restaurants," said Antonio Albizures-López, 20, who came to the U.S. from Guatemala when he was 1.

Albizures-López, who is pursuing legal residency, says the best solution is passage of federal legislation, known as the DREAM Act, which provides a pathway to legal residency for college students.

The Rhode Island Board of Governors for Higher Education, which oversees the state's three public higher education institutions, unanimously approved in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants last week, effective in the fall of 2012. The General Assembly had failed repeatedly to take action on legislation that's been introduced year after year.

Twelve states — California, Connecticut, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin — have laws allowing the children of undocumented immigrants to receive in-state rates if they meet certain requirements, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Gov. Lincoln Chafee, in urging the Board of Governors to adopt the change, said it would allow more Rhode Islanders to attend college, help build a stronger work force and boost an economy that is among the nation's most troubled.

Research varies on how much resident tuition rates for undocumented immigrants increase enrollment. A 2010 paper co-authored by Aimee Chinn, an economist at the University of Houston, did not find a sizeable increase overall for 18- to -24-year-olds in the 10 states studied, although it did find that Mexican men in their 20s attended at modestly higher rates. It also found that even in-state tuition may still be too expensive, especially since undocumented immigrant students do not qualify for federal education aid.

By contrast, a study this year by the Latino Policy Institute at Roger Williams University in Rhode Island, which looked at an array of research on the issue, said that in-state tuition has led to an enrollment increase among undocumented immigrants, on average, of 31 percent in the places it has been implemented.

The Urban Institute has estimated that 65,000 undocumented immigrants graduate from high school in the U.S. every year.

But even if more students go on to attend public colleges and universities with the benefit of in-state rates, a big question remains: how will they fare in the work force after they graduate, even with a degree that traditionally makes it easier to get the kind of high-skill, high-paying job not available to those who finish only high school.

"Even with a college degree, there hasn't been a more general immigration reform that would enable these kids to get a job once they have their degree," said Chinn.

Amanda Pereira, 18, came to the U.S. illegally at the age of 6 from Brazil with her family.

"In a way, it is going to be another dead end," she said. "But in a way it is a help, because at least they got through another four years and got their education, so they can find ways to possibly get legalized through an employer."

The Brandeis University freshman was granted legal status — after more than a decade pursuing it — last spring, but is continuing to advocate for undocumented immigrant students.

"We do need to continue pushing for the DREAM Act," she said.

That federal legislation — the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act — would provide a pathway to legal residency for undocumented-immigrant students providing they meet certain requirements. A December study by UCLA estimated that such students could contribute anywhere from $1.4 trillion to $3.6 trillion to the nation's economy over the course of their careers, depending on how many ultimately obtain citizenship.

But the bill has failed to win the necessary votes on Capitol Hill despite repeated tries, and its prospects for passage are uncertain.

Albizures-López, a resident of Lincoln who graduated from Blackstone Academy Charter School in 2009, called in-state tuition a "stepping stone" to college but added, "It's not complete. It's not even halfway complete."

He says he has "protected status" while his legal case for residency is pending, so he is able to work a part-time job coaching soccer at a private high school. He plans to apply to college, including the University of Rhode Island and Rhode Island College, where he could get in-state rates. URI's in-state tuition is $9,824, compared to $25,912 for out-of-state.

Terry Gorman, executive director of Rhode Islanders for Immigration Law Enforcement, opposes in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants. He cites a 1996 federal law that laid out certain restrictions on undocumented immigrant benefits, and says it's a violation of that statute to provide in-state tuition to students who came here illegally, on the basis of residence, if the same break is not available to all students — including those from out of state.

Students paying out-of-state rates at California institutions mounted a legal challenge on those grounds, but the state Supreme Court upheld the in-state tuition policy, saying it did not conflict with federal law. The U.S. Supreme Court in June declined to hear the case.

But Gorman also maintains that the policy change offers students in the U.S. illegally a "false hope" about their post-graduation prospects.

"This is going to be an educated population that can't do anything with their education because they're illegal aliens," he said. "What do they do? They can't work."

Kimberly Mehlman-Orozco, who conducted the Latino Policy Institute study at Roger Williams, points out that, while that's the law, it isn't necessarily the reality. She said that under current enforcement practices, many who are here illegally are in fact being hired. That being the case, she said, they may as well be college-educated.

Under the new policy in Rhode Island, in-state rates will be available only to undocumented immigrants' children who have attended a high school in the state for at least three years and graduated or received a GED. Students also must commit to seek legal status as soon as they are eligible, or lose their resident tuition.

Supporters of the policy change say it would affect approximately 140 students in Rhode Island.

Based on reporting by the Associated Press.

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Illegals who graduate from Miami Dade College have no problems being hired by Hispanics who own businesses. They need to live in an area with plenty of people from the same geographical area that are in the United States in order to get a job.

What about all the legal citizens who cannot find jobs after college because THERE ARE NO JOBS!

Originally Posted by MontereySherry

What about all the legal citizens who cannot find jobs after college because THERE ARE NO JOBS!

They do not seem to care about that. I find it sad that in places that have been colonized like Miami it is often an us vs them mentality.

Just think of the great jobs waiting for them in their home countries now that they have a college degree.

Even with a college degree - the road for educated undocumented immigrants is paved with no.

No immediate pathway to legal status under current federal immigration law.

No jobs because employers cannot legally hire them.

No guarantee of a better future.

Why not go back to your country of rightful citizenship and create a "better future" for yourself with your just minted college degree. We have thousands of young people - American citizens- with college degrees that cannot find work. Why should we even begin to care about an illegal invader making more demands upon us! They have been given enough already!

Go home and stop begging!

Originally Posted by NoBueno

Even with a college degree - the road for educated undocumented immigrants is paved with no.

No immediate pathway to legal status under current federal immigration law.

No jobs because employers cannot legally hire them.

No guarantee of a better future.

Why not go back to your country of rightful citizenship and create a "better future" for yourself with your just minted college degree. We have thousands of young people - American citizens- with college degrees that cannot find work. Why should we even begin to care about an illegal invader making more demands upon us! They have been given enough already!

Go home and stop begging!

I t has been brought up before where many of these people could actually benefit their own countries by staying there and benefitting their own communities and encourage growth

Originally Posted by uniteasone

Originally Posted by NoBueno

Even with a college degree - the road for educated undocumented immigrants is paved with no.

No immediate pathway to legal status under current federal immigration law.

No jobs because employers cannot legally hire them.

No guarantee of a better future.

Why not go back to your country of rightful citizenship and create a "better future" for yourself with your just minted college degree. We have thousands of young people - American citizens- with college degrees that cannot find work. Why should we even begin to care about an illegal invader making more demands upon us! They have been given enough already!

Go home and stop begging!

I t has been brought up before where many of these people could actually benefit their own countries by staying there and benefitting their own communities and encourage growth

Good point! Not only can they create a “better futureâ€

Then it should be a no-brainer, stop wasting our money with giving these criminals in-state tuition money that should be going American kids!

inch by inch thats always been the plan. first its fruit pickers, then education for their kids, then medical care, then welfare because one child born here, and on and on until they get full amnesty.

Why do you think they SHOW UP for all things immigrant. While we are at work. We need to start counter protesting, we are loosing the battle because we dont show up.

They are literally taking the country. I read today the Muslims are next...