Proposal gives students vital chance

Portillo is a member of MEChA de UCLA.

By Vanessa Portillo

Last October, Governor Gray Davis signed Assembly Bill 540,
which allows undocumented students who have attended and graduated
from a California high school to pay in-state tuition at the
California State Universities and community colleges. These
students must also be in the process of legalizing their residency
and must submit an affidavit that indicates that they have or will
file for legal residence status.

In order for Governor Davis to agree to sign the bill, a clause
that would have allowed students to receive financial aid was
eliminated. The ability to receive financial aid presents another
barrier for most undocumented students who are affected by AB 540
because even at the CSU, the cost for in-state tuition is far
beyond what immigrant families are able to pay.

There are many undocumented students who have been affected
prior to AB 540 and many more who continue to leave their dreams of
pursuing their education after they graduate from high school. The
few undocumented students who are admitted and do decide to attend
a college or university must continue to face difficulties, which
question whether they can remain at the university.

Reviewing the stories of these students serves as testament to
the need for the regents to implement AB 540 at the UC.

***

One of these students, Miguel, who graduated from Santa Monica
High School last June, will be attending Santa Monica College in
the spring semester. Miguel will major in sociology and plans to
become a teacher. Here he tells his story:

***

“Unfortunately, I have obstacles in my way, many of which
I have no control over, and the chances to get around them are few.
I attended Edison Elementary School, John Adams Middle School, and
then I went on to high school. Since the beginning of first grade
to the end of fifth grade in elementary, teachers would encourage
me to believe in my dreams, saying that “˜some day, they will
become a reality.’ Years later, I still have my crazy dreams
of becoming a somebody in society, someone productive, someone
competitive enough to earn a name for himself as a
professional.

“My high school years were the toughest. During my senior
year, while other students were submitting their applications for
different colleges, I was coming up with things to say when they
would ask me why I was not applying to any colleges.

“I assume that people suspected that I had already
submitted my applications and they did not bother to ask. The ones
who did ask, were in for a big surprise. I did not know how to tell
them that I could not do anything to solve my problem, and so
little by little I got used to the idea of attending a community
college.

“Even though I have a good understanding of where I stand,
I still have my dreams in mind and I maintain hopes of one day
becoming the teacher I never had.

“I am now part of an organization called Wise-Up, a
subdivision of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los
Angeles. Wise-up is a youth led project committed to organizing and
improving immigrant communities through mobilization and advocacy.
We formed part of the AB 540 campaign.

“We are now participating in pressuring the UC Regents for
the full and immediate implementation of AB 540 at the University
of California. We’re also working on reviving the federal
bill House Resolution 1918, which not only opens the doors of
education through legalization, it also provides financial aid.

“As a member of Wise-Up, and as a student who will benefit
from AB 540, I believe that we are residents of the state of
California because we live here, pay taxes here, and we are
educated in public schools and are the direct product of those
institutions. Why are we denied to continue our education in other
public institutions? It is totally unjust to let this keep going
on; AB 540 should be implemented to change this at the
UC.”

***

Dinora is currently enrolled at UCLA and majoring in
physiological science. Through- out the years she has had to change
her plans of pursuing a higher education in hopes of becoming a
doctor because she, like all other undocumented students, has been
shut out of a chance at college:

***

“On Dec. 21, 2001, I nervously sat at the Immigration and
Naturalization Service lobby waiting for the immigration officer to
call me in for the interview to determine whether or not I became a
permanent resident. I had waited for this day for 11 long years.
Although I was lucky to have been granted my legal residence I know
there are many other people waiting impatiently for that day.

“Living in the United States without a green card is like
being in a big cage from which one cannot escape; it makes you feel
trapped, helpless, worthless and powerless, you have no freedom and
no rights.

“Faced with the harshness of disillusionment and poverty
during my childhood, my family had no other choice but to leave the
small Mexican town and come to the U.S. in May 1990.

“Two years after being in the country, both my sisters and
I knew enough English to be placed in the regular English classes.
I attended Banning High School in Wilmington, Calif. where I
excelled academically. I took Advanced Placement courses in
English, art and Spanish, as well as difficult science courses.

“During the last semester of high school, while all the
other kids were planning which college or university to attend I
was busy working trying to save money so that one day, when the
opportunity came, I would attend college like them. Every time
people asked me if I was going to attend UCLA, Berkeley, etc. I
would lie and say UCLA; I did not dare telling anyone that I was
not going to go to school because I was an “˜illegal
alien.’

“Becoming a doctor is a childhood dream that I am not
willing to give up, and for that reason, I enrolled in a community
college after high school. I did not have any legal documents to
show the school when I registered, but I was willing to take the
risk. I had lived in the U.S for six years, I was a good student
who wanted nothing but to educate myself and succeed, and I
deserved to be there. I paid all my tuition, fees, and books in
full without the help of financial aid, scholarships, grants or
even my family. Almost all the money I made was to pay for school
and to help my family and others who were less fortunate than I
was. I stayed at the community college for five years due to my
legal situation.

“On Jan. 31, 2001 I received an employment authorization
from the INS. Then I applied to three of the UC schools even though
I knew I was still not eligible for financial aid. I immediately
got accepted to all three schools that I applied to, including
UCLA. I paid the non-resident tuition plus all the other fees,
parking, and books which came out to a total of $6,000 for the fall
quarter.

“If a law such as AB 540 existed, the doors to a better
education and a better life would open for many of these immigrant
children who wish nothing but to achieve their dreams and to one
day be successful members of their community. I want to be able to
concentrate on my education, my community, and my family, but
having to work two jobs while attending school, commuting, and
being a physiological science student leaves me with very little
time.

“I paid the immigration department the fee for having
lived in the country illegally, I never asked anyone for money, I
never asked for public welfare. I never committed any crime; the
crime is committed against all those students who are robbed of
their dreams, who are not given the opportunity to succeed, to
those whose wings are cut and are forced to remain trapped in the
cage.”