Miriam Sanchez

Isabel Perez
Crystal Nestor
STACC English 100
Professor Gabrielsson
November 23, 2014

Undocumented Students

In the United States education is the gateway to prosperity and for a educated youth, it is
often the only means available to raise themselves and their families out of poverty. However,
for undocumented youth and their families, educational attainment presents a number of unique
challenges. Upon arriving in the United States, undocumented students face problems, and
educational needs. They encounter aspects that mainly have to do with college besides the
struggle to cope with the need to learn English and adapt to new cultural norms and expectations.
In order for them to gain knowledge and find their own career and lead their own life, which is
not easily encountered. Some undocumented students are also likely to drop out of school and
not pursue higher education. Another problem that undocumented students have is not having the
privilege into having stuff that can work for their own personal benefit. Although there are
opportunities for undocumented students like the 'DREAM Act', not every undocumented
student may be eligible. Therefore, Undocumented students don't just struggle living a ordinary
life as a student, but they also carry the burden of not having the same rights as citizens in the
United States.

Many have an academic preparation to pursue a education, but their economic and social
mobility is severely restricted by their undocumented status. Undocumented students as far as the
government is concerned dont have an identity. In which restricts them from working, having a
license and having a social security card. Although some may think that these are not really
required one daily bases, some can rather use the help. Because not all undocumented students
are fortunate to have their parents drive them to college instead they have to take public
transportation that can be pretty time consuming. Rather than having to drive to college that may
be more beneficial and less time consuming. Therefore, having a license I believe gives you the
freedom to drive wherever you may like in the United States in regards of arriving to college on
time.

As for social security, its the source that gives people an identity in which undocumented
students may not have and without having that it eliminates all of your chances into getting a
proper job, education etc. It eliminates your chances into being eligible into something that will
be more benefiting especially for undocumented students that may require a lot of support
especially financially, in which without it you aren't eligible to work or getting any scholarships.
Which may minimize the chances of someone being benefitted for taking the opportunity of
signing up for a scholarship that maybe more adequate. As well, minimizes your priorities into
having an opportunity to buy a house or get a job etc.

Undocumented students who do decide to go to a Cal State, University, or even

Community College sometimes end up having to leave because they can no longer pay for the
expenses that the college they are attending require. In "undocumented students talk about their
struggles", by Laura Walsh, she explains how a student from USC by the name of Oscar Garcia

had to leave the Trojans because he was not eligible for financial aid, and was unable to afford
the payments he had to make (Walsh 1). The only way Garcia would be able to pay for his
school is if he had scholarships, but most scholarships are not available for undocumented
students. Scholarships that are available for undocumented students are only those who are
voluntarily done by the wealthy or those who simply support students with struggles similar to
Garcia's.

Financial Aid is money that is granted to students of low income by the government so
that they are able to pay for college tuition, books, housing, and other expenses that college
requires. Unfortunately Financial Aid is not granted for all students, undocumented students
being one of them. In order for students to obtain Financial Aid, they must be a US citizen or be
a permanent resident. This act was passed in 1996 which prohibited undocumented students from
receiving any type of federal aid ("Financial Aid and Scholarships for Undocumented Students"
4). Because they do not receive federal aid, these students are forced to have to pay for college
from there own pocket. College is priced as a luxury, making it more difficult for these students
to be able to keep up in paying college expenses. In order for these students to be able to keep up
with there expenses they tend to get side jobs, which leads me to my second reason why
undocumented students struggle for a higher education.

In spite of these obstacles that may induce the opportunity for a undocumented students to
go to college, another help they may be qualified for are scholarships. They help you financially
as well in which limits your chances of not depositing anything from your pocket. But as well
scholarships may not be eligible for everyone. Any scholarships requiring students to be U.S
citizens or to provide Social Security number disqualify undocumented students from applying.

In which is why mainly to be able to gain a scholarship the student has to require lot of patience
and skill because its competitive program that is set to help many who may be facing the same
problems.

Without a means to legalize their status, they are unable to go to college and cannot work
legally in this country. And that sets back the privilege into going to college especially without
the help of financial aid. Applying for college may be the easy part, but once you have been
qualified the interest is high. Financial aid is set out for beneficial help, especially in cases
regarding a student that are going to college. But the U.S government does not allow
undocumented students to receive any federal financial aid. The downside of it is that without
any financial stability it enables undocumented students to go to college without having to take
risks financially that may lead them to poverty and in a situation where they cant even support
themselves since they cant work as well. Which sets down onto not being able to try to achieve
their goals and the lack of financial aid and others supports for undocumented students
eliminates economic and other benefits that could accrue our society from a greater number of
college graduates.

An example, of an undocumented student in PCC who struggles to pay for her education is
a personal interview with Alexandra who goes to school and has to work to afford her education
that can become very stressful for her at times. And the first question I asked her was, Do you
feel any different from the rest of the students in college because you are undocumented? She
quickly answered, No! Why would I be? Theres many just like me, you just cant see it and
you just cant ask either many can get really offended by it but lucky for you I dont mind saying

Im an undocumented student. I proceeded giggling and asked her, How does it feel to be
undocumented? She looked me straight in the eye and said, Like nothing Im just like you and
the rest of the people around us. The only difference is I have to work twice as hard to afford
going to college and it becomes very stressful at times. I thought about it and the next question I
asked her was, What do you mean to work twice as hard and where do you work? She gave a
long deep breathe and said, Well, I have school and it takes a lot of my time away because I
have to study hard but then I have work and I have to put up with people who have bad attitudes
I come home to doing homework and studying with hardly any sleep and hardly any patients to
greet my family and it makes me feel so bad at times but sometimes Im just not in the mood.
And, I work in McDonalds as a cashier and by the way word of advice dont work there its
crucial but I have to thank Dream Act for giving me a license to work. And my final question to
Alexandra was, How do you have to be part of this academic discourse community and how
does it feel about being a member of the academic discourse community? And she said You
are part of it even if you dont want to be because we are all connected by not being documented
and it feels good because every undocumented student I know or have seen that attend college
strive to succeed and doesnt let citizenship get in the way of our education even if we have to
work a lot harder for it. Alexandras responses and struggles reminded me of the story Arrival,
by Ha Jin who is attending college but has to work very hard to be successful in both college and
gaining his wifes visa, My coursework and my two part-time jobs kept me so busy that I rarely
ate dinner (Jin 127). And after all that hard work he ends up having decent grades and enough
money to bring his wife to the United States.

Another example, of an undocumented student struggling with college would be in the

book The Freedom Writers Diary by Erin Gruwell, where a teenage boy being prepared for

college in his senior year of high school but gets his dreams crushed and lives in fear of
deportation. In the afterword the undocumented student writes By the time my senior year
came I realized that college was going to be out of my reach, without a social security number, I
was eligible for any financial aid, and without aid, college would just be a dream
(afterword:Dairy#1pg284). He cant afford college but he also lives in fear because he then
describes to us why he would love to go to Washington but fears getting arrested and risk of
getting deported, I felt that sadness and frustration when Ms.G asked me to go to Washington,
D.C. I wanted to go but I couldnt imagine setting foot in the Capital building without being
arrested (afterword: Dairy#1pg284). This teenage boy getting ready to go to college gets his
dreams crushed because he cant afford to pay his college tuition and lives in fear of getting
deported because according to the National Immigration Law Center , If you are here without
citizenship you are breaking the law undocumented students are defined as foreign nationals who
entered the U.S.: Without inspection, with fraudulent documents or Legally as nonimmigrants,
who then violated the terms of their status by letting their Visas expire by remaining in the U.S.
without authorization, they are breaking the law(Qtb:BestCollege s 1). According to these
regulations he is definitely breaking the law and is in risk of deportation. Luckily, in the year of
2010 the Dream Act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors) was passed and
now undocumented students can have a chance to get a further education that just high school
and to become legalized, The legislation requires undocumented youths to attain at least an
associate-level college degree to be eligible for legalization (Sergeant 2). But that doesnt mean
that all undocumented students get accepted by the Dream Act because of many circumstances
so they have to find any type of job and work illegally to be able to afford college to at least gain
an Associates degree.

Undocumented students have many disadvantages to not being able to attend good
colleges, they do have a chance of being eligible for the 'DREAM act. The DREAM Act is a way
for students who have grown up living in the US to obtain temporary legal status and can later
become US citizens (DREAM Act Summary 3). The DREAM Act also allows them to apply for
grants that help them pay for college expenses. A grant is a different way of saying financial aid.
Grants are for the low income just like financial aid is, the difference between them is that with a
grant you do not have to pay them back once you have completed your college education. On the
other hand financial aid is almost the same as a grant, except that if the student does not finish
his school, he will have to pay back the government the money he was granted. The DREAM
Act is not for every undocumented student which still makes it hard for those who do not qualify
for it. However, there was a different law that was passed in the year of 2001 that allows
undocumented students to receive in state tuition. This law is similar to the DREAM Act law. In
order for them to receive this they have to meet a few requirements that are similar to the
DREAM Act, but are far more easy to obtain. These undocumented students must be enrolled in
a high school for four years and must have a received there diploma or anything equivalent to it.
They must also be approved to attend a community college or a university (Undocumented
Student Tuition: State Action 3).

Although many support the DREAM Act and help make the dream a reality, there has
been many controversies that make certain people doubt if they arent well informed. Therefore,
making them turn against the support of the dream act. Like in Arizona, a place where they dont
really want to do anything with the dream act has reported a case of a guy named Jose Patino.
Jose, who has been approved in the Dream act after celebrating with his family, he later finds out

that Arizona does not want to give the DREAMers there drivers licenses or jobs. He applied to 89 engineering companies with hope but he gets turned down even if he does have his college
degree in engineering, After getting his work permit, Patino applied for jobs at eight or nine
engineering firms. None planned out (Shannahan paragraph 16). 45 states have also approved
giving them divers license expect Arizona, Arizona and Nebraska are the only states that
prohibit deferred-action recipients from getting driver's licenses (Shannahan paragraph 16).
Making it difficult to get to point A to point B. Some might say that approving the Dream Act
might be u fair for many who want to become citizens through a hard secured system, This act
seems to be unfair for individuals who have complied with the rules and requirements in their
desire for citizenship (apecsec.org) meaning that the people who are struggling to get their
citizenship and have to go through a long process that can take years an undocumented student
can just apply for the dream act and there you go in less than 2 months you have your permit to
stay in California. But its the same process applying for the Dream Act and for citizenship what
if they dont get approved?, Immigrants will be able to rely on the justice system of America in
terms of protecting wronged individuals and holding illegal immigrants accountable. They will
now fear of becoming parts of the system because of possible deportation (apecsec.org).
Another, even huge argument towards the Dream Act is the possibility of un documented
students having the right to have a job permit will make many racist believe that they will take
all the jobs away, This would probably take away jobs from American citizens and will drive
down salaries or wages of jobs that are left behind (apecsec.org). But in reality studies have
shown that it will create new jobs and higher salaries, Overall, we find that the passage of the
DREAM Act would add $329 billion to the U.S. economy and create 1.4 million new jobs by
2030, demonstrating the potential of the proposed law to boost economic growth and improve

our nations fiscal health. WOW! So, why not let the Dream Act pass? Another reason why
many are fighting the Dream Act is because now it will encourage more illegal residents to come
to the U.S in hopes of making their children residents, opponents of the DREAM Act fear that
giving amnesty to these immigrants who have broken immigration law will only encourage more
illegal immigrants to come into the U.S., knowing that their children will have a pathway to legal
residence (us immigration). A good counter argument would be, Furthermore, beneficiaries of
the DREAM Act were not active participants in the choice to break American immigration law
and its not fair to condemn them to a lifetime of low-paying underground, black market labor
for the transgressions of their parents( us immigration). And its true when youre a little kid
you want to be with your mom and dad and unknowingly youll do anything to be with them
even if it means risking your life to cross the border without even knowing it like the story. Little
kids dont see the benefits but the love of being with their loved ones like in the story The
distance between us by Reyna Cisneros.

Personally having Miriam be an undocumented student, we had the opportunity to have

heard her story along with her cousins 'Josue Araujo' who has had more experiences than she has
had herself. For starters we questioned him "What was the most challenging experience you've
had to face?" his immediate response was "Having to reject the college of my dreams since I
didnt qualify for no financial help by having to be undocumented". This shows the
disappointment a undocumented student has to face when their dreams shatter once they realize
they can't afford the tuition. But despite not being to afford his dream college he didn't give up
and went to a community college in which later he transferred out from to UCLA. This to us has
showed us that the capacity Miriam's cousin as well as many more undocumented students strive
for in order to get a proper education; by not giving up. A great opportunity that opened may

doors for undocumented students as well as her cousin and Miriam were a legislative proposal
called the 'DREAM ACT'.

Some of the assessable sources that PCC has to offer to those who do not have
residency or that are having a hard time applying for college, are various. PCC has a website that
you may visit (http://www.pasadena.edu/studentservices/careercenter/undocumentedstudents.cfm) that allows you to do some research on what they have to offer. Some of the
sources that they have are for different types of undocumented students, for example those who
have been here since they were kids or those who recently came to the United States. In this
website you will find various amounts of sources that can help them in different unique ways,
depending on what your situation is. In one of the links available called the UCLA College and
Financial Aid Guide for Undocumented Students they help you receive a better understanding
for what some resources different UC's or Cal States have that may be able to help you with.

In conclusion, through this essay we hope to present a more complex understanding of

how undocumented students who came from rural backgrounds dont have the same rights as
citizens, and their social position in the United States. And the major challenges that are set out
for undocumented students that they must overcome in order to assimilate into an academic
discourse community. And now that theirs a new opportunity of the program 'DREAM ACT'
students have a opportunity to have an identity, and to reach for their goals. (3468)

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