Undocumented Students and Access
To Higher Education in America
Juan M. Galvan
Liberty University
Abstract
This paper exposes the urgency to implement an immigration reform that would eliminate educational and occupational barriers to millions of undocumented students that want to pursue a postsecondary education. The information in this research examines the impact undocumented students may have in society and the economy of this country. There are thousands of undocumented students that graduate high school every year and have no opportunities to pursue a higher education degree, thus increasing the chances of poverty in this country, increase in unemployment and a serious negative shift in the economy. Given the increase role
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An educational reform in higher education would eliminate the many educational and occupational barriers undocumented students face today. By permitting access to undocumented students into postsecondary education and earn a degree would eliminate poverty and unemployment levels in the country. It is essential to give as many young people undocumented or not the opportunity to enroll and succeed in postsecondary education to strengthen the economy of the United States. The younger generations are the future of this country and undocumented students are not the exception. These young students also play an important part in society today and if given the opportunity to earn a professional degree will most definitely impact American society in the years to come.
UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS IN AMERICA
Undocumented immigrants are foreign nationals who entered the United States without authorization or entered legally but remained in the United States without authorization. However, undocumented youth and students usually have no role in the decision to come to this country. They are usually brought to this country by their parents or relatives, generally due to economic hardship and they have spent more years in the United States than in their country of birth. (Baum, Flores, 2011) Over the years, undocumented immigration has grown tremendously in the United States. “Among the nearly 12 million undocumented immigrants, a
More than 11 million undocumented illegal immigrants fill the US. Over the past hundreds years immigrants have been coming into the United States,this process has continued. And some may disagree and believe in that immigrants should not have a path to citizenship. It is immigrants should have a path to citizenship. Undocumented immigrants should get a path to citizenship
As they go through their college years, undocumented students face the burdens of not having the financial aid and the legal stability required for success. The support provided to undocumented college students comes from their peers because they can count of each other and relate to each other. The social networks undocumented students create with trusted peers and staff are a fundamental part to help them get through the difficult times that impact their college success. One way for undocumented students to find support is through college organizations where students can feel safe (Hallett, 2013). Undocumented students can gain resources and information about topics like immigration laws and financial opportunities in their campus and at the same time be able to connect with more students and college staff. The Dream Project is one of the safe spaces “Dreamers” can count on at California State University,
If we talk about undocumented immigrants in United States, we usually focus on the benefits and jobs they take from our country, but have we ever stood in their shoes and imagine what life is like for an illegal immigrant? To live as an undocumented immigrant is a bad situation, but I believe to be a child of an undocumented immigrant is even worse, because their choices are limited and they are unaware of their rights to attend colleges. In this research, I will focus on undocumented immigrant students, who are unable to afford for higher education, and the fear of their unknown future which is mainly cause by their undocumented status. The largest invisible group in America, to explore “what are the struggles and unsolved problems of
Every year thousands of undocumented students graduate from high school with uncertainty about a post-secondary education. Many of these students do not have the financial means, and are often too scared about their legal status to continue their education. This issue is extremely prevalent in the state of California, hosting 2.6 million “alien residents”, it has the largest population of undocumented immigrants (Gonzales, 2006). Immigration policies have been controversial topics in the United States for a long time. Although there is still an ongoing debate about reforming the current immigration laws, there has been progress in making post-secondary education a possibility for undocumented students. This paper will focus
Illegal immigration is the migration of people across national borders in a way that violates the immigration laws of the destination country. Some countries have millions of illegal immigrants. Immigration, including illegal immigration, is overwhelmingly upward, from a poorer to a richer country. The easy definition of an undocumented immigrant is someone who was not born in the United States and therefore has no legal right to be or remain in the United States. Not all undocumented immigrants snuck across the border illegally. Although it is hard to get an accurate number on the amount that did, some undocumented immigrants originally came here legally as tourists or some came on a temporary visa and just did not leave. The reasons on why they decided to stay and not go back to their countries are numerous. Some immigrants come to the United States to work and escape the poor economy in their country, while others come to be with their family. Whatever the reason may be, at the end of the day they all come here to achieve the american dream.
The DREAM Act plays a big role in the nation’s effort to have the highest proportion of graduates in the world by 2020 (Miranda). Allowing this to pass would reduce the drop out rate significantly all throughout the country. 65,000 undocumented students graduate from high school every year. In Luis Miranda’s Get The Facts On The Dream Act, Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan has stated that passing the Dream Act will allow “these young people to live up to their fullest potential and contribute to the economic growth of our country.” It gives students the incentive to go through school and get a degree. When undocumented students are attending school, some colleges wont accept them. Knowing that, they do not have the drive or interest in pursuing a college degree. A lot of immigrants now will finish high school, get there diploma, then go find a job. Having this bill passed will change the education in the United States forever.
Undocumented students are becoming a growing outrage in the United States. It has been a constant battle amongst the students, the schools, and the Government. According to collegeboard.com, statistics shows that 65,000 undocumented students graduate from U.S. high schools each year (collegeboard.com).After graduating high school they face legal and financial barriers to higher education. This paper will address the importance of this growing outrage and discuss the following that corresponds to it.
Specific Purpose: To persuade the members of my audience to support that undocumented students should have access to in-state tuition.
Illegal immigration has caused a lot of controversy within the United States. The media has influenced our society to make us believe that illegal immigrants are horrible people. One thing that I have learned throughout life is, “Man is born free; and everywhere he is in chains (Rousseau 4).” This sums up how society dictates our lives and limits us to what the media wants to us to believe. Whether it is legal or illegal, everybody should be treated equally. Illegal immigrants might always end up with the short end of the stick, but they heavily support the US economy. They contribute by paying taxes every year. In addition, they adopt difficult low wage jobs that are not of interest to the average American.
The majority of students in the U.S. are in an endeavor to continue higher education. Most students will end up taking student loans that will take years and even decades to pay back. But, in a country where higher education is needed to succeed in a competitive job market, the debacle arises as to what happens to those who aren’t citizens trying to continue unto higher learning. Certain laws have prevented undocumented students from attending universities because of a rise in immigration. However, to those students that had no say in arriving, they now seem stuck in the crossfire of uncertainty. Many believe giving financial aid to the undocumented is a gateway to flash flood migration.“Allowing illegal immigrant students to pay in-state college
As time passes the majority of undocumented students graduate high school and head to the next level of their education, but the majority of these students fear on applying the college of their choice. Furthermore, colleges in the United States does not allow an undocumented student to fulfill his or her hopes of continuing education. This initially leads students to give up pursuing their education to work at places that do not require a degree. In few cases, some students are given the chance to study at a college, but most students can not afford to pay the classes. (Nothing is free for the students unless they are documented in the United States . Something acquired throughout the years that the student had an opportunity to continue their studies) (I 'm lost). The government passed an act called the “Dream Act”, which allow students to apply to any college of their choice. There is a catch, the government will not give financial aid and not allowed a student to loans. This is a challenge for students because the majority of them wonder how can they for that price. Although many students apply for jobs it’s still not enough to pay for the tuition. However, students realize that it is time to make a stand and make a statement, they should be allowed to have financial aid. As of right now, students are protesting, creating a march, and doing action in their own political ways.
Secondary education is a highly debated subject. Many critics of secondary education say that inner-city high schools and students are not receiving the same attention as students from non inner-city high schools. Two of the biggest concerns are the lack of school funding that inner-city high schools are receive and the low success rate in sending inner-city high schools graduates to college. Critics say that while inner-city high schools struggle to pay its teachers and educate its student’s non inner-city high schools don’t have to deal with the lack of school funding. Also students from non inner-city high school are not being given the opportunity to attend colleges once the
More than 55 million immigrants have settled in the U.S. since the nation’s founding. With the exception of Native Americans, everyone living in the U.S. is either an immigrant or the descendent of voluntary or involuntary immigrants. However, some blame every problem this nation faces these days on immigration. Problems such as economic hardships are blamed on immigration because immigrants take all the jobs. Political turmoil and war are on the list as well. What is actually true and what is myth?
According to the Center for Immigration Studies, an illegal alien is “an unauthorized resident immigrant population is defined as all foreign-born non-citizens who is not a legal resident” (CIS). Many people have entered the United States illegally over the past decades, but it has become a more prominent topic in the recent years. These unlawful immigrants originate typically from Mexico and come to the United States in hope to start a new life or to get a job and send money back to their families. Most
The United States is a country affected by illegal immigration. The term illegal aliens or what is most commonly known as illegal immigrants, the word alien is simply a person who comes from a foreign country. A much more accurate expression for these groups of individuals is the term illegal alien. The term illegal alien is a much more precise term because it deals with both undocumented aliens as well as nonimmigrant visa overstayers. Both terms illegal alien as well as illegal immigrant are used to describe individuals who have broken the law of our country to enter and work illegally. The majority of the immigrants who come to this country illegally are in search of the