Posted on Sun, Apr. 06, 2008
S.C. bill may block college for illegal immigrants
By Robert Morris

For participants in the state's immigration reform effort, the upcoming ban on illegal immigrants in public colleges is a logical step.

It makes no sense, they say, for South Carolina to educate people who cannot legally work here. It merely encourages them to stay.

But for Dayana Rodrigues - who was brought to the United States illegally as a child, then learned English and graduated from Myrtle Beach High School in the top 5 percent of her class - such a proposal would crush her dreams before they really begin.

"Every single window will be closed for me because the door is already closed," Rodrigues said.

A year into a college program for nursing, Rodrigues knows finding a job without legal citizenship will be extremely difficult, even though there is a nursing shortage across the country.

The N.C. fight

A major skirmish in the battle over illegal immigrants and colleges recently was fought in North Carolina.

Late last year, the community college administration decided that the state's 58 campuses could no longer bar illegal immigrants. Citizenship, officials said, was no longer a valid criterion for admission.

Supporting the decision, Gov. Mike Easley said students should not be punished for their parents' illegal immigration.

"When they distinguished themselves all the way through our K-12 education system, we're not going to slam the door in their face and condemn them to the underclass," Easley told The Associated Press.

The effect on the state coffers was expected to be slim, as college officials said that only 340 students statewide were illegal immigrants.

Brunswick Community College President Steve Greiner, for example, said his school has "less than 10" enrolled.

Nonetheless, the decision was loudly criticized by N.C. conservatives.

The Civitas Institute, a Raleigh-based conservative think tank, contested the 340-student estimate, saying the real number is in thousands.

Even so, no one in the Carolinas is arguing that citizens are being crowded out of college, said Robert Luebke, an analyst with the Civitas Institute. Because illegal immigrants pay steep out-of-state tuition, it is not a cost issue at all.

The opposition, Luebke said, is one of principle.

"Once you educate these people and they get out, they're legally not able to hold jobs," Luebke said.

This illustrates the need for immigration reform on the federal level, Luebke said.

For now, North Carolina's open-admission policy stands, but Luebke said he expects it to be a volatile issue in the state's gubernatorial elections this fall.

Not giving up

Growing up in Brazil, Rodrigues was a good student, surrounded by friends, active in school sports and clubs.

During her parents' divorce, Rodrigues' mother looked at the family's bleak economic prospects and decided to move to the United States. They eventually made contact with a distant relative they'd never met who found them a place to stay in Myrtle Beach.

"At first it sounded great, but when I got here, it was not that fun any more," Rodrigues said.

The only English the 14-year-old spoke was "one-two-three, Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday," leftover memories from Brazilian elementary school English classes. Nor did she speak any Spanish - the language of Brazil is Portuguese. Spanish would have at least allowed communication with some fellow foreign students.

Eventually, Rodrigues found herself learning two languages: English, so she could function in school, and Spanish, so she could befriend other Hispanic immigrants.

In that first year, the only class she understood was math - she said teachers generally let her slide in science, history and literature, passing her with a C. The next year in high school she got no breaks but learned quickly and graduated a semester early and with honors.

Encouraged by an English teacher who made a point of urging all foreign students to pursue college, Rodrigues decided to enter a nursing program, despite bleak prospects for working in this country.

Paying out-of-state tuition, each semester costs her $2,000 for two courses, all she can balance with her full-time housekeeping job. She has no college loans because her mother, also a housekeeper, and a friend are giving her money for her tuition.

Immigrant students are known for high dropout rates, but a possible college degree, Rodrigues said, "is what made us keep going, work harder and harder."

A law barring illegal immigrants from college would be a disaster, she said.

"I can't imagine losing a year and a half of hard work. I don't even care about the money anymore."

Though the nursing field offers a wide array of opportunities - graduates can live anywhere or practice any specialty - Rodrigues dares not dream about working in the U.S.

Rodrigues often accompanies Spanish speakers to doctor's appointments, translating between patient and physician. Helping others and being in the medical environment carries its own rewards, she said, but also a sting.

"They don't refuse my help when I'm translating, but just to think they'll say no to me when I'm trying to get a job - that kind of hurts," Rodrigues said.

Nearing an S.C. decision

The measure to ban illegal immigrants from colleges is one of 17 in South Carolina's proposed immigration-reform bill.

Both the state House of Representatives and Senate have approved slightly different versions, and a committee of both has been meeting for several weeks to hash out the differences.

On higher education, the only difference was whether to allow illegal students already enrolled to finish their courses. Though lawmakers know they may risk lawsuits from the students they force out, state Rep. Thad Viers, R-Myrtle Beach, one of six lawmakers assigned to the immigration-bill conference committee, said the panel is likely to decide to bar all illegal students immediately.

There is no estimate of how many illegal immigrants are now attending college in South Carolina, said Julie Carullo, the S.C. Commission on Higher Education director of Governmental Affairs and Special Projects. The commission does require that out-of-state tuition be at least 100 percent of the cost of educating the student, she said.

Viers said state lawmakers think that in the absence of good federal immigration controls, states have to make an unfriendly climate to those in the country illegally - part of the overall push for "self-deportation," the voluntary departure of illegal immigrants from South Carolina.

"We felt the illegal person should not get the benefits of citizens of the state," Viers said.

Peggy Ryals, the teacher that first took Rodrigues on college field trips, said another principle is at play.

"I will seriously question what kind of people are we if we block education," Ryals said. "Education is the great hope of the world."

Like the N.C. governor, Ryals said the students should not be blamed for their parents' decisions.

"I've never had a student who willingly left their friends and identity behind to live this shadowy, illegal life," Ryals said.

A federal way in

There is one hope for Rodrigues: a federal bill that has started and stalled in several incarnations and is occasionally mentioned by presidential candidates.

The Development, Relief and Education of Alien Minors Act, or DREAM Act, would grant conditional residency to people under 30 who were brought to the U.S. as children but finished high school and went on to college or the military. After six years, if they stay out of legal trouble, they could then apply to begin the citizenship process.

Supporters of the bill point to cases such as Rodrigues' as the need for such an act. Immigration foes call it a form of amnesty that would encourage more people to bring their children illegally into the country.

A version of the DREAM Act was originally part of last year's comprehensive immigration reform, supported by U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. The DREAM Act then returned to the Senate on its own, and Graham and U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., voted against it.

In principle, Graham said he still supports the idea, but it must be part of a comprehensive bill that balances it against tighter border security and sanctions on businesses that employ illegal immigrants.

"Some people don't want to give legal status to anybody until we fix the whole problem," Graham said.

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