
{"id":10919,"date":"2010-06-10T13:40:38","date_gmt":"2010-06-10T21:40:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/?p=10919"},"modified":"2010-06-10T13:40:38","modified_gmt":"2010-06-10T21:40:38","slug":"undocumented-high-school-students-face-barriers-upon-graduation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/2010\/06\/10\/undocumented-high-school-students-face-barriers-upon-graduation\/","title":{"rendered":"Undocumented high school students face barriers upon graduation"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>By Charlie Tyson<br \/>\n<\/strong><em>Staff Writer<br \/>\n<\/em><br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Call me Esperanza,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said. The Spanish word for hope.<\/p>\n<p>Esperanza, a senior at East Chapel Hill High School, is academically successful and respected by teachers and classmates alike. She is also an undocumented immigrant.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Undocumented teenagers are no different from [all] other teens in the U.S.,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Esperanza said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153They have the same dreams, the same expectations. They want the same American dream, but they can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have it because of a stupid little green card.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>Undocumented immigrants in the United States number around 11.9 million, according to a 2008 report by the nonpartisan Pew Hispanic Center. The study also showed that about 76 percent of the nation\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s undocumented residents are Hispanic \u00e2\u20ac\u201c 59 percent from Mexico.<\/p>\n<p>Esperanza was 11 when she moved to the United States. Her father came to the country first, after losing his job in her family\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s nation of origin. She was separated from her father for two years before he had the money to bring her and her mother to the States.<\/p>\n<p>Mother and daughter entered the country by plane, clutching travel visas in one hand and suitcases in the other. The visas expired, but her family remained in the States.<\/p>\n<p>For undocumented teenagers in the United States, public high school serves as a refuge, since no proof of citizenship is necessary for enrollment. Yet for many teens lacking a green card, high school graduation marks the end of their academic careers. Undocumented residents do not qualify for in-state tuition for public universities and many hesitate to apply for government-backed student aid for fear of exposing their citizenship status to federal authorities.<\/p>\n<p>These obstacles make college difficult to get into and prohibitively expensive for undocumented teens. To gain admission to public universities, students lacking citizenship must apply as international students and compete with students across the globe for admission. And without aid, private school or out-of-state tuition to public schools is often unaffordable.<\/p>\n<p>Despite such barriers to higher education, some students are able to attend college by winning scholarships.<\/p>\n<p>Esperanza is one such student. Having won a large academic scholarship, she will enroll at a private school next year. Had she not received the scholarship, she would not have been able to attend college.<\/p>\n<p><strong>A daily secret<br \/>\n<\/strong>Although Esperanza is one of few undocumented students provided the opportunity to earn a college degree, her citizenship status remains a closely guarded secret.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153You never know who to trust,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Before I told my best friend, we had been friends for three years.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>Esperanza said she feared being blackmailed by someone aware of her immigration status \u00e2\u20ac\u201c something that had happened to friends of hers.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153You can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really come out,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Ever.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d <\/p>\n<p>Only a handful of close friends and teachers are aware of Esperanza\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s citizenship status.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Student-wise, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s only the people I trust the most,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153My best friends. Some of my teachers know; only the ones I trust the most.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>East Chapel Hill High Spanish teacher Sandy Williamson has observed firsthand the weight of such a secret upon students.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153A lot of kids don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t let you know,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Williamson said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153They want to keep a low profile. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re more likely to be out with someone they have a close relationship with.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>Esperanza said she occasionally overheard remarks about immigration issues at school but always hesitated to speak up.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Every time the topic comes up, I feel like my ears start turning red,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153You can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t help thinking, \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcDo they know? Do they know because my face is turning red?\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 You never want to participate in those conversations because you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to expose yourself.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p><strong>An unexpected motivation<br \/>\n<\/strong>For \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Maria,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d an undocumented immigrant and a senior about to graduate from a high school in a neighboring county, her citizenship status has served as an academic motivator rather than a deterrent.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153College has been a topic of conversation within my family since before I started kindergarten,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Maria said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve known since then that if an undocumented student wants to go to college, the best bet would be [through scholarships] to top private schools to avoid both discrimination and the financial burden.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>Her work during high school won her offers of a full ride to Harvard, Columbia and other top schools.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153If anything, my legal status has driven everything regarding my academic life,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Since the beginning of my junior year, I have taken at least four extra classes per semester in the hopes that it would boost me up within the college application process. My current status as valedictorian of my school is also thanks to my drive as an undocumented student.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>Maria was born in Mexico and was three months old when her parents moved to the U.S.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t choose to come into this country illegally,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Sometimes it depresses me that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not like everyone else. Though they may not know it, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not American. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m an alien with no claims to either the U.S. or Mexico.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>Maria said her parents worked long hours in preparation for paying her college tuition.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Seeing my dad\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s tired face makes me understand everything they want for me and it makes me understand that what I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m doing isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t just for me,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s for them. For my parents, for the people who die crossing the border every day, for the people who go to work every single day of their lives in the hopes that their children will accomplish more than they ever could.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p><strong>An issue still unresolved<br \/>\n<\/strong>Undocumented and college-bound, Esperanza and Maria are exceptions to the rule. Aware of the difficulties of gaining admission to and paying for college, most undocumented high school students don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t attempt to secure a post-high school education.<\/p>\n<p>Esperanza is troubled by the plight of undocumented immigrant students in the U.S.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153A lot of the time, the only crime we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re guilty of is being here and wanting a better life for ourselves,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Maria agreed that undocumented students who came to the U.S. at a young age with their parents should not necessarily be held responsible for their undocumented status.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Most of them had no say in their entry to this country,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153These are the students that have grown up with you, the ones that can accomplish great things, the ones that could change the world \u00e2\u20ac\u201c but only if given the chance.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Esperanza, a senior at East Chapel Hill High School, is academically successful and respected by teachers and classmates alike. She is also an undocumented immigrant.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10919","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10919","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10919"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10919\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10920,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10919\/revisions\/10920"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10919"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10919"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10919"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}