A right to education

At Columbia, we are a diverse student body. We come from all over the world, from numerous backgrounds and life experiences—yet we are united in the value we place on education. Would you deny that education to someone just because his or her parents immigrated to the U.S. illegally?

We all spent the better part of our final year of high school planning how we were going to get into our favorite colleges. For most of us, the stress stopped with an acceptance letter. But, for some, the next step was much less clear. In the United States, out of the more than three million students who graduate from high school each year, 65,000 are illegal immigrants.

Last March, 21-year-old Jessica Colotl, a student at Kennesaw State University, became the face of a heated immigration debate after she was arrested for driving without a license and was later revealed to be an illegal immigrant. When she was 10 years old, Colotl’s parents brought her from Mexico to the United States. She graduated with honors from a Georgia high school and, in 2006, went on to enroll at Kennesaw State University to study political science. At the time of her arrest, she was two semesters away from graduating.

Colotl was taken into federal custody and detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for 35 days before being released. She was eventually granted a yearlong deferral on her deportation to finish college. In 2007, the Board of Regents, which oversees Georgia state universities, prohibited illegal immigrants from attending universities as Georgia residents, and public outrage ensued when Colotl was found to be paying in-state tuition. Colotl planned to become a lawyer, but she will likely be deported after she graduates.

Why do so many Americans support the denial of rights for individuals who flee to the United States? These individuals, oftentimes risking their lives, come here in search of opportunities not available to them in their home countries. With 65,000 illegal immigrants graduating high school each year, there is a chance that some are students at Columbia. You have no way of knowing the immigration status of the girl who lives on your floor or the boy sitting next to you in your economics class. Promoting anti-immigrant legislation and provisions under the guise of patriotism is foolish—we are a nation of immigrants. If we reject those who seek freedom and economic opportunity, we are turning our backs on the foundation of our nation that makes it so great.

In October, in the wake of the controversy surrounding Jessica Colotl and the stringent Arizona immigration legislation, the Georgia Board of Regents voted to ban illegal immigrants from the state’s five most selective public colleges. South Carolina is the only other state to impose such a ban. In November, Georgia state Rep. Tom Rice introduced HB-59, a bill barring illegal immigrants from attending all of Georgia’s public colleges and universities.

Currently, the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia and the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project are working in partnership with Georgia immigrants’ rights advocates to fight against the passage of HB-59. “The overwhelming majority of states today afford students access to a college education regardless of immigration status,” said Michael Tan, a Skadden Fellow and attorney at the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project. “Keeping the classroom open to all students furthers principles of fundamental fairness,” he added. “The students who stand to be hurt by HB-59 are, by and large, talented high achievers who came to Georgia as children because of the choices of their parents. It’s unfair to lock them outside the university gate.”

Legislation to help these students does exist. The DREAM Act is a bipartisan bill developed by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) that would grant undocumented students citizenship through a six-year process. Eligible students must have entered the United States before the age of 16 and have lived in the United States for five consecutive years. Citizenship would be contingent upon completion of a college degree or two years of military service. As demonstrated by recent legislation, the current political climate is not exactly friendly toward illegal immigrants. Thus, the DREAM Act has yet to pass.

This truly is a common sense-bill. It would provide committed students whose immigration status was determined by the actions of their parents the ability to pursue the American dream. Our community understands the invaluable importance of education—we have a responsibility to support the DREAM Act and oppose xenophobic measures, like the Board of Regents’ ban and HB-59 in Georgia. We should stand with our peers who depend on the passage of this legislation to complete their education and pursue their dreams.

Alexandra Katz is a Barnard College senior majoring in political science. She is an intern at the American Civil Liberties Union Immigrant's Rights Program. Umm, Excuse Me runs alternate Thursdays.