Portillo is the MEChA Chicana/o studies coordinator. Delgado is
the MEChA vice chairperson of internal affairs.
By Elizabeth Delgado and Vanessa
Portillo
Juan M. grew up in the housing projects in Watts and East Los
Angeles. He is the first of his family to attend college and has
become a role model for his four brothers. Through the dedication
and support of his family, he managed to avoid the gangs, drugs and
violence that unfortunately overwhelm his neighborhood. He wants to
pursue an advanced degree in business. His family has lived in the
United States since 1980, and Juan has lived here most of his life.
His family has applied to the Immigration and Naturalization
Service to legalize Juan’s status, but there is a four-year
(or more) wait. He was accepted to the University of California,
and through the generosity of private donors, he is completing his
first year of college, but he has no way to continue financing his
education.
Unfortunately, Juan is not the only student in the California
educational system dealing with the same situation. Hundreds of
students in the California public school system are undocumented,
seeking to improve their families’ (and their own) way of
living by receiving an education. Their undocumented status,
though, places limits on their creativity and their scholastic
achievement.
Lately, there has been controversy surrounding the recent
approval of a bill that will allow undocumented students to receive
in-state tuition at the California State and California Community
College levels. The bill does not apply to the UC system.
The controversy has not come on behalf of immigrant and
education advocates, but rather from many conservatives who argue
this bill will send a message to other neighboring countries that
the United States, and more specifically, California, has opened
its doors to immigrants. Before the passage of this bill,
undocumented immigrants who graduated from California high schools
were charged nonresident tuition to attend state community colleges
and universities. These students are shut out of college because of
prohibitive tuition rates. With the passage of AB 540, which was
introduced to the State Assembly Committee on Higher Education in
March of this year by Assemblyman Marco Firebaugh (D – Los Angeles)
and signed by Gov. Gray Davis on Oct. 11, 2001, undocumented
students are able to receive in-state tuition at California State
Universities and community colleges.
This bill requires students to attend California schools for at
least three years, graduate from California high schools, and earn
admission to Cal State Universities and community colleges. The
bill also requires students to submit an affidavit stating that
they have filed, or will file, for legal residency status to the
INS. Though in-state tuition was lowered for students, they are
still unable to receive any kind of federal and state financial
aid. The next step after Davis has signed AB 540 at the Cal State
and community college level is to present support to the UC Regents
for the implementation of this law at the UC level.
Despite anti-immigrant legislation and sentiment in the state of
California, these requirements are far beyond what immigrants have
obtained in the last couple of years. However, one must not forget
that, although this is a step forward for immigrants, there are two
shortcomings to this law. Though the bill lowered the tuition a
student is required to pay, it still bars undocumented students
from receiving financial aid, which is, in itself, a barrier for
many undocumented students.
In order to clarify misrepresented facts held by many people,
here are some myths and realities about undocumented students:
Myth: Undocumented students have the financial means to pay for
their education.
Reality: The majority of undocumented students do not come to
this country with much money; hence financial aid is and will be a
crucial issue for many of these students.
Myth: Undocumented students should have applied for legal
residency before they actually applied to the university.
Reality: It is not so easy to say “tomorrow I will go into
the INS, and apply for legal residency.” Legal procedures to
actually apply for legal residency are a long and tedious process.
The INS procedures are not processes that are very people-friendly.
If the person does file the paperwork for residency, the INS
backlogs have created long waits or people trying to secure
residency. For instance, many immigrants from Central America fled
the civil wars in their countries and applied for political asylum.
But many have been stuck in the swamp of a litigation that has been
pending for almost 10 years.
Other undocumented students have not sought legal status and
have virtually no chance of obtaining it. Their parents might be
law-abiding, tax-paying residents who contribute to the economy,
but they do not have access or means to lawyers to help them
through the process. Because of anti-immigrant legislation, such as
Proposition 187, there has been a withstanding sentiment among the
immigrant community that in applying for any sort of social service
and/or the INS, they’ll get deported. Believe it or not, this
sentiment is very much present today.
Myth: Undocumented students do not pay taxes.
Fact: In every sense, these students are California residents;
they have resided in California most of their lives. They have
attended and graduated from California high schools, and their
parents have worked and paid taxes in California. Many of these
students will eventually gain legal status in the U.S., but it is
not as easy as it may seem to those not familiar with the process.
The U.S. Supreme Court acknowledged that these students are likely
to remain in the U.S. and contribute to the economy and society
(Plyler vs. Doe). Undocumented families have not taken American
jobs or seats at the university. Rather, they have taken jobs that
they would still occupy as legal residents, and have and will
continue to bring a new light to the educational system.
Myth: Undocumented students are just from Mexico and Central
America.
Reality: There are undocumented students in this country from
all over the world. Not only from neighboring countries like
Mexico, El Salvador, and Guatemala, but also from Canada, Russia
and various parts of Asia.
Myth: UCLA students will suffer as a result of this bill.
Reality: The majority of undocumented students deal with
segregated and under-funded schools, usually in inner city areas.
The question should be, how many students from under-served
communities actually get admitted into institutions of higher
education such as UCLA? Because of the effects of Proposition 209,
not many students from under-served communities are attending UCLA,
and hence AB 540 is a step toward the right direction for
immigrants in the state of California.
Legacy seats serve as preferential admissions that benefit
whites, males and wealthy children who may be less qualified, but
will be admitted over higher-qualified students. Why doesn’t
anyone ever question this? Ten percent of high school seniors in
Huntington Park are undocumented. Many of these high school
seniors, in high schools throughout the state, are at the top of
their classes. They have met admissions criteria for admissions, so
they must have many leadership qualities, and are, most likely,
undistinguishable from other UCLA students. The adversity they have
had to overcome and their diverse backgrounds offer richness and
depth to the quality of the educational experience at UCLA, so why
shouldn’t undocumented students have access to institutions
of higher education such as UCLA? They have earned it ““ it is
a matter of merit, clear and simple.
And although AB 540 has been signed and approved by Governor
Gray Davis at the Cal State and community college level, the
University of California, as a public research institution also has
accountability and responsibility to the children residing within
the state of California.
As students at UCLA, we should transform UCLA into the public
university it is supposed to be ““ one that serves all of the
public by ensuring that its doors remain open to all members of all
communities, that its curriculum is relevant to the concerns of all
communities, and that its policies and governance are democratic
and egalitarian.
An educated person is one who is able to understand the concerns
and the background of people and will serve to ultimately improve
the quality of social services and education, and of society as a
whole. Thus, it is vital to remember that one of the missions of
the UC, from its inception, has been to educate all Californians.
We must be open-minded to be able to learn from the broad and rich
population that reflects the state of California. For others not to
understand the background, environment and experiences of our
society, is to negate one of the missions of the University of
California.