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Eight brilliant student essays on immigration and unjust assumptions.

Read winning essays from our winter 2019 “Border (In)Security” student writing contest.

For the winter 2019 student writing competition, “Border (In)Security,” we invited students to read the YES! Magazine article “Two-Thirds of Americans Live in the “Constitution-Free Zone” by Lornet Turnbull and respond with an up-to-700-word essay. 

Students had a choice between two writing prompts for this contest on immigration policies at the border and in the “Constitution-free zone,” a 100-mile perimeter from land and sea borders where U.S. Border Patrol can search any vehicle, bus, or vessel without a warrant. They could state their positions on the impact of immigration policies on our country’s security and how we determine who is welcome to live here. Or they could write about a time when someone made an unfair assumption about them, just as Border Patrol agents have made warrantless searches of Greyhound passengers based simply on race and clothing.

The Winners

From the hundreds of essays written, these eight were chosen as winners. Be sure to read the author’s response to the essay winners and the literary gems that caught our eye.

Middle School Winner: Alessandra Serafini

High School Winner: Cain Trevino

High School Winner: Ethan Peter

University Winner: Daniel Fries

Powerful Voice Winner: Emma Hernandez-Sanchez

Powerful Voice Winner: Tiara Lewis

Powerful Voice Winner: Hailee Park

Powerful Voice Winner: Aminata Toure

From the Author Lornet Turnbull

Literary Gems

Middle school winner.

Alessandra Serafini

Brier Terrace Middle School, Brier, Wash.

Broken Promises

“…Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

These words were written by Emma Lazarus and are inscribed on the base of the Statue of Liberty. And yet, the very door they talk about is no longer available to those who need it the most. The door has been shut, chained, and guarded. It no longer shines like gold. Those seeking asylum are being turned away. Families are being split up; children are being stranded. The promise America made to those in need is broken.

Not only is the promise to asylum seekers broken, but the promises made to some 200 million people already residing within the U.S. are broken, too. Anyone within 100 miles of the United States border lives in the “Constitution-free zone” and can be searched with “reasonable suspicion,” a suspicion that is determined by Border Patrol officers. The zone encompasses major cities, such as Seattle and New York City, and it even covers entire states, such as Florida, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. I live in the Seattle area, and it is unsettling that I can be searched and interrogated without the usual warrant. In these areas, there has been an abuse of power; people have been unlawfully searched and interrogated because of assumed race or religion.

The ACLU obtained data from the Customs and Border Protection Agency that demonstrate this reprehensible profiling. The data found that “82 percent of foreign citizens stopped by agents in that state are Latino, and almost 1 in 3 of those processed are, in fact, U.S. citizens.” These warrantless searches impede the trust-building process and communication between the local population and law enforcement officers. Unfortunately, this lack of trust makes campaigns, such as Homeland Security’s “If You See Something, Say Something,” ineffective due to the actions of the department’s own members and officers. Worst of all, profiling ostracizes entire communities and makes them feel unsafe in their own country.

Ironically, asylum seekers come to America in search of safety. However, the thin veil of safety has been drawn back, and, behind it, our tarnished colors are visible. We need to welcome people in their darkest hours rather than destroy their last bit of hope by slamming the door in their faces. The immigration process is currently in shambles, and an effective process is essential for both those already in the country and those outside of it. Many asylum seekers are running from war, poverty, hunger, and death. Their countries’ instability has hijacked every aspect of their lives, made them vagabonds, and the possibility of death, a cruel and unforgiving death, is real. They see no future for their children, and they are desperate for the perceived promise of America—a promise of opportunity, freedom, and a safe future. An effective process would determine who actually needs help and then grant them passage into America. Why should everyone be turned away? My grandmother immigrated to America from Scotland in 1955. I exist because she had a chance that others are now being denied.

Emma Lazarus named Lady Liberty the “Mother of Exiles.” Why are we denying her the happiness of children? Because we cannot decide which ones? America has an inexplicable area where our constitution has been spurned and forgotten. Additionally, there is a rancorous movement to close our southern border because of a deep-rooted fear of immigrants and what they represent. For too many Americans, they represent the end of established power and white supremacy, which is their worst nightmare. In fact, immigrants do represent change—healthy change—with new ideas and new energy that will help make this country stronger. Governmental agreement on a humane security plan is critical to ensure that America reaches its full potential. We can help. We can help people in unimaginably terrifying situations, and that should be our America.

Alessandra Serafini plays on a national soccer team for Seattle United and is learning American Sign Language outside of school. Her goal is to spread awareness about issues such as climate change, poverty, and large-scale political conflict through writing and public speaking.

  High School Winner

Cain Trevino

North Side High School, Fort Worth, Texas

Xenophobia and the Constitution-Free Zone

In August of 2017, U.S. Border Patrol agents boarded a Greyhound bus that had just arrived at the White River Junction station from Boston. According to Danielle Bonadona, a Lebanon resident and a bus passenger, “They wouldn’t let us get off. They boarded the bus and told us they needed to see our IDs or papers.” Bonadona, a 29-year-old American citizen, said that the agents spent around 20 minutes on the bus and “only checked the IDs of people who had accents or were not white.” Bonadona said she was aware of the 100-mile rule, but the experience of being stopped and searched felt “pretty unconstitutional.”

In the YES! article “Two-Thirds of Americans Live in the ‘Constitution-Free Zone’” by Lornet Turnbull, the author references the ACLU’s argument that “the 100-mile zone violates Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure.” However, the Supreme Court upholds the use of immigration checkpoints for inquiries on citizenship status. In my view, the ACLU makes a reasonable argument. The laws of the 100-mile zone are blurred, and, too often, officials give arbitrary reasons to conduct a search. Xenophobia and fear of immigrants burgeons in cities within these areas. People of color and those with accents or who are non-English speakers are profiled by law enforcement agencies that enforce anti-immigrant policies. The “Constitution-free zone” is portrayed as an effective barrier to secure our borders. However, this anti-immigrant zone does not make our country any safer. In fact, it does the opposite.

As a former student from the Houston area, I can tell you that the Constitution-free zone makes immigrants and citizens alike feel on edge. The Department of Homeland Security’s white SUVs patrol our streets. Even students feel the weight of anti-immigrant laws. Dennis Rivera Sarmiento, an undocumented student who attended Austin High School in Houston, was held by school police in February 2018 for a minor altercation and was handed over to county police. He was later picked up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and held in a detention center. It is unfair that kids like Dennis face much harsher consequences for minor incidents than other students with citizenship.

These instances are a direct result of anti-immigrant laws. For example, the 287(g) program gives local and state police the authority to share individuals’ information with ICE after an arrest. This means that immigrants can be deported for committing misdemeanors as minor as running a red light. Other laws like Senate Bill 4, passed by the Texas Legislature, allow police to ask people about their immigration status after they are detained. These policies make immigrants and people of color feel like they’re always under surveillance and that, at any moment, they may be pulled over to be questioned and detained.

During Hurricane Harvey, the immigrant community was hesitant to go to the shelters because images of immigration authorities patrolling the area began to surface online. It made them feel like their own city was against them at a time when they needed them most. Constitution-free zones create communities of fear. For many immigrants, the danger of being questioned about immigration status prevents them from reporting crimes, even when they are the victim. Unreported crime only places more groups of people at risk and, overall, makes communities less safe.

In order to create a humane immigration process, citizens and non-citizens must hold policymakers accountable and get rid of discriminatory laws like 287(g) and Senate Bill 4. Abolishing the Constitution-free zone will also require pressure from the public and many organizations. For a more streamlined legal process, the League of United Latin American Citizens suggests background checks and a small application fee for incoming immigrants, as well as permanent resident status for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) recipients. Other organizations propose expanding the green card lottery and asylum for immigrants escaping the dangers of their home countries.

Immigrants who come to the U.S. are only looking for an opportunity to provide for their families and themselves; so, the question of deciding who gets inside the border and who doesn’t is the same as trying to prove some people are worth more than others. The narratives created by anti-immigrant media plant the false idea that immigrants bring nothing but crime and terrorism. Increased funding for the border and enforcing laws like 287(g) empower anti-immigrant groups to vilify immigrants and promote a witch hunt that targets innocent people. This hatred and xenophobia allow law enforcement to ask any person of color or non-native English speaker about their citizenship or to detain a teenager for a minor incident. Getting rid of the 100-mile zone means standing up for justice and freedom because nobody, regardless of citizenship, should have to live under laws created from fear and hatred.

Cain Trevino is a sophomore. Cain is proud of his Mexican and Salvadorian descent and is an advocate for the implementation of Ethnic Studies in Texas. He enjoys basketball, playing the violin, and studying c omputer science. Cain plans to pursue a career in engineering at Stanford University and later earn a PhD.  

High School Winner

Ethan Peter

Kirkwood High School, Kirkwood, Mo.

I’m an expert on bussing. For the past couple of months, I’ve been a busser at a pizza restaurant near my house. It may not be the most glamorous job, but it pays all right, and, I’ll admit, I’m in it for the money.

I arrive at 5 p.m. and inspect the restaurant to ensure it is in pristine condition for the 6 p.m. wave of guests. As customers come and go, I pick up their dirty dishes, wash off their tables, and reset them for the next guests. For the first hour of my shift, the work is fairly straightforward.

I met another expert on bussing while crossing the border in a church van two years ago. Our van arrived at the border checkpoint, and an agent stopped us. She read our passports, let us through, and moved on to her next vehicle. The Border Patrol agent’s job seemed fairly straightforward.

At the restaurant, 6 p.m. means a rush of customers. It’s the end of the workday, and these folks are hungry for our pizzas and salads. My job is no longer straightforward.

Throughout the frenzy, the TVs in the restaurant buzz about waves of people coming to the U.S. border. The peaceful ebb and flow enjoyed by Border agents is disrupted by intense surges of immigrants who seek to enter the U.S. Outside forces push immigrants to the United States: wars break out in the Middle East, gangs terrorize parts of Central and South America, and economic downturns force foreigners to look to the U.S., drawn by the promise of opportunity. Refugees and migrant caravans arrive, and suddenly, a Border Patrol agent’s job is no longer straightforward.

I turn from the TVs in anticipation of a crisis exploding inside the restaurant: crowds that arrive together will leave together. I’ve learned that when a table looks finished with their dishes, I need to proactively ask to take those dishes, otherwise, I will fall behind, and the tables won’t be ready for the next customers. The challenge is judging who is finished eating. I’m forced to read clues and use my discretion.

Interpreting clues is part of a Border Patrol agent’s job, too. Lornet Turnbull states, “For example, CBP data obtained by ACLU in Michigan shows that 82 percent of foreign citizens stopped by agents in that state are Latino, and almost 1 in 3 of those processed is, in fact, a U.S. citizen.” While I try to spot customers done with their meals so I can clear their part of the table, the Border Patrol officer uses clues to detect undocumented immigrants. We both sometimes guess incorrectly, but our intentions are to do our jobs to the best of our abilities.

These situations are uncomfortable. I certainly do not enjoy interrupting a conversation to get someone’s dishes, and I doubt Border Patrol agents enjoy interrogating someone about their immigration status. In both situations, the people we mistakenly ask lose time and are subjected to awkward and uncomfortable situations. However, here’s where the busser and the Border Patrol officer’s situations are different: If I make a mistake, the customer faces a minor inconvenience. The stakes for a Border Patrol agent are much higher. Mistakenly asking for documentation and searching someone can lead to embarrassment or fear—it can even be life-changing. Thus, Border Patrol agents must be fairly certain that someone’s immigration status is questionable before they begin their interrogation.

To avoid these situations altogether, the U.S. must make the path to citizenship for immigrants easier. This is particularly true for immigrants fleeing violence. Many people object to this by saying these immigrants will bring violence with them, but data does not support this view. In 1939, a ship of Jewish refugees from Germany was turned away from the U.S.—a decision viewed negatively through the lens of history. Today, many people advocate restricting immigration for refugees from violent countries; they refuse to learn the lessons from 1939. The sad thing is that many of these immigrants are seen as just as violent as the people they are fleeing. We should not confuse the oppressed with the oppressor.

My restaurant appreciates customers because they bring us money, just as we should appreciate immigrants because they bring us unique perspectives. Equally important, immigrants provide this country with a variety of expert ideas and cultures, which builds better human connections and strengthens our society.

Ethan Peter is a junior. Ethan writes for his school newspaper, The Kirkwood Call, and plays volleyball for his high school and a club team. He hopes to continue to grow as a writer in the future. 

University Winner

Daniel Fries

Lane Community College, Eugene, Ore.

Detained on the Road to Equality

The United States is a nation of immigrants. There are currently 43 million foreign-born people living in the U.S. Millions of them are naturalized American citizens, and 23 million, or 7.2 percent of the population, are living here without documentation (US Census, 2016). One in seven residents of the United States was not born here. Multiculturalism is, and always has been, a key part of the American experience. However, romantic notions of finding a better life in the United States for immigrants and refugees don’t reflect reality. In modern history, America is a country that systematically treats immigrants—documented or not—and non-white Americans in a way that is fundamentally different than what is considered right by the majority.

The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment states,“No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” When a suspected undocumented immigrant is detained, their basic human rights are violated. Warrantless raids on Greyhound buses within 100 miles of the border (an area referred to by some as the “Constitution-free zone”) are clear violations of human rights. These violations are not due to the current state of politics; they are the symptom of blatant racism in the United States and a system that denigrates and abuses people least able to defend themselves.

It is not surprising that some of the mechanisms that drive modern American racism are political in nature. Human beings are predisposed to dislike and distrust individuals that do not conform to the norms of their social group (Mountz, Allison). Some politicians appeal to this suspicion and wrongly attribute high crime rates to non-white immigrants. The truth is that immigrants commit fewer crimes than native-born Americans. In fact, people born in the United States are convicted of crimes at a rate twice that of undocumented non-natives (Cato Institute, 2018).

The majority of immigrants take high risks to seek a better life, giving them incentive to obey the laws of their new country. In many states, any contact with law enforcement may ultimately result in deportation and separation from family. While immigrants commit far fewer crimes, fear of violent crime by much of the U.S. population outweighs the truth. For some politicians, it is easier to sell a border wall to a scared population than it is to explain the need for reformed immigration policy. It’s easier to say that immigrants are taking people’s jobs than explain a changing global economy and its effect on employment. The only crime committed in this instance is discrimination.

Human rights are violated when an undocumented immigrant—or someone perceived as an undocumented immigrant—who has not committed a crime is detained on a Greyhound bus. When a United States citizen is detained on the same bus, constitutional rights are being violated. The fact that this happens every day and that we debate its morality makes it abundantly clear that racism is deeply ingrained in this country. Many Americans who have never experienced this type of oppression lack the capacity to understand its lasting effect. Most Americans don’t know what it’s like to be late to work because they were wrongfully detained, were pulled over by the police for the third time that month for no legal reason, or had to coordinate legal representation for their U.S. citizen grandmother because she was taken off a bus for being a suspected undocumented immigrant. This oppression is cruel and unnecessary.

America doesn’t need a wall to keep out undocumented immigrants; it needs to seriously address how to deal with immigration. It is possible to reform the current system in such a way that anyone can become a member of American society, instead of existing outside of it. If a person wants to live in the United States and agrees to follow its laws and pay its taxes, a path to citizenship should be available.

People come to the U.S. from all over the world for many reasons. Some have no other choice. There are ongoing humanitarian crises in Syria, Yemen, and South America that are responsible for the influx of immigrants and asylum seekers at our borders. If the United States wants to address the current situation, it must acknowledge the global factors affecting the immigrants at the center of this debate and make fact-informed decisions. There is a way to maintain the security of America while treating migrants and refugees compassionately, to let those who wish to contribute to our society do so, and to offer a hand up instead of building a wall.

Daniel Fries studies computer science. Daniel has served as a wildland firefighter in Oregon, California, and Alaska. He is passionate about science, nature, and the ways that technology contributes to making the world a better, more empathetic, and safer place.

Powerful Voice Winner

Emma Hernandez-Sanchez

Wellness, Business and Sports School, Woodburn, Ore.

An Emotion an Immigrant Knows Too Well

Before Donald Trump’s campaign, I was oblivious to my race and the idea of racism. As far as I knew, I was the same as everyone else. I didn’t stop to think about our different-colored skins. I lived in a house with a family and attended school five days a week just like everyone else. So, what made me different?

Seventh grade was a very stressful year—the year that race and racism made an appearance in my life. It was as if a cold splash of water woke me up and finally opened my eyes to what the world was saying. It was this year that Donald Trump started initiating change about who got the right to live in this country and who didn’t. There was a lot of talk about deportation, specifically for Mexicans, and it sparked commotion and fear in me.

I remember being afraid and nervous to go out. At home, the anxiety was there but always at the far back of my mind because I felt safe inside. My fear began as a small whisper, but every time I stepped out of my house, it got louder. I would have dreams about the deportation police coming to my school; when I went to places like the library, the park, the store, or the mall, I would pay attention to everyone and to my surroundings. In my head, I would always ask myself, “Did they give us nasty looks?,” “Why does it seem quieter?” “Was that a cop I just saw?” I would notice little things, like how there were only a few Mexicans out or how empty a store was. When my mom went grocery shopping, I would pray that she would be safe. I was born in America, and both my parents were legally documented. My mom was basically raised here. Still, I couldn’t help but feel nervous.

I knew I shouldn’t have been afraid, but with one look, agents could have automatically thought my family and I were undocumented. Even when the deportation police would figure out that we weren’t undocumented, they’d still figure out a way to deport us—at least that was what was going through my head. It got so bad that I didn’t even want to do the simplest things like go grocery shopping because there was a rumor that the week before a person was taken from Walmart.

I felt scared and nervous, and I wasn’t even undocumented. I can’t even imagine how people who are undocumented must have felt, how they feel. All I can think is that it’s probably ten times worse than what I was feeling. Always worrying about being deported and separated from your family must be hard. I was living in fear, and I didn’t even have it that bad. My heart goes out to families that get separated from each other. It’s because of those fears that I detest the “Constitution-free zone.”

Legally documented and undocumented people who live in the Constitution-free zone are in constant fear of being deported. People shouldn’t have to live this way. In fact, there have been arguments that the 100-mile zone violates the Fourth Amendment, which gives people the right to be protected from unreasonable searches and seizures of property by the government. Unfortunately, the U.S. Supreme Court has consistently upheld these practices.

One question that Lornet Turnbull asks in her YES! article “Two-Thirds of Americans Live in the ‘Constitution-Free Zone’” is, “How should we decide who is welcome in the U.S and who is not?” Instead of focusing on immigrants, how about we focus on the people who shoot up schools, rape girls, exploit women for human sex trafficking, and sell drugs? These are the people who make our country unsafe; they are the ones who shouldn’t be accepted. Even if they are citizens and have the legal right to live here, they still shouldn’t be included. If they are the ones making this country unsafe, then what gives them the right to live here?

I don’t think that the Constitution-free zone is an effective and justifiable way to make this country more “secure.” If someone isn’t causing any trouble in the United States and is just simply living their life, then they should be welcomed here. We shouldn’t have to live in fear that our rights will be taken away. I believe that it’s unfair for people to automatically think that it’s the Hispanics that make this country unsafe. Sure, get all the undocumented people out of the United States, but it’s not going to make this country any safer. It is a society that promotes violence that makes us unsafe, not a race.

Emma Hernandez-Sanchez is a freshman who is passionate about literature and her education. Emma wan ts to inspire others to be creative and try their best. She enjoys reading and creating stories that spark imagination. 

  Powerful Voice Winner

Tiara Lewis

Columbus City Preparatory Schools for Girls,

Columbus, Ohio

Hold Your Head High and Keep Those Fists Down

How would you feel if you walked into a store and salespeople were staring at you? Making you feel like you didn’t belong. Judging you. Assuming that you were going to take something, even though you might have $1,000 on you to spend. Sometimes it doesn’t matter. This is because people will always judge you. It might not be because of your race but for random reasons, like because your hair is black instead of dirty blonde. Or because your hair is short and not long. Or just because they are having a bad day. People will always find ways to bring you down and accuse you of something, but that doesn’t mean you have to go along with it.

Every time I entered a store, I would change my entire personality. I would change the way I talked and the way I walked. I always saw myself as needing to fit in. If a store was all pink, like the store Justice, I would act like a girly girl. If I was shopping in a darker store, like Hot Topic, I would hum to the heavy metal songs and act more goth. I had no idea that I was feeding into stereotypes.

When I was 11, I walked into Claire’s, a well-known store at the mall. That day was my sister’s birthday. Both of us were really happy and had money to spend. As soon as we walked into the store, two employees stared me and my sister down, giving us cold looks. When we went to the cashier to buy some earrings, we thought everything was fine. However, when we walked out of the store, there was a policeman and security guards waiting. At that moment, my sister and I looked at one another, and I said, in a scared little girl voice, “I wonder what happened? Why are they here?”

Then, they stopped us. We didn’t know what was going on. The same employee that cashed us out was screaming as her eyes got big, “What did you steal?” I was starting to get numb. Me and my sister looked at each other and told the truth: “We didn’t steal anything. You can check us.” They rudely ripped through our bags and caused a big scene. My heart was pounding like a drum. I felt violated and scared. Then, the policeman said, “Come with us. We need to call your parents.” While this was happening, the employees were talking to each other, smiling. We got checked again. The police said that they were going to check the cameras, but after they were done searching us, they realized that we didn’t do anything wrong and let us go about our day.

Walking in the mall was embarrassing—everybody staring, looking, and whispering as we left the security office. This made me feel like I did something wrong while knowing I didn’t. We went back to the store to get our shopping bags. The employees sneered, “Don’t you niggers ever come in this store again. You people always take stuff. This time you just got lucky.” Their faces were red and frightening. It was almost like they were in a scary 3D movie, screaming, and coming right at us. I felt hurt and disappointed that someone had the power within them to say something so harsh and wrong to another person. Those employees’ exact words will forever be engraved in my memory.

In the article, “Two-Thirds of Americans Live in the ‘Constitution-Free Zone’,” Lornet Turnbull states, “In January, they stopped a man in Indio, California, as he was boarding a Los Angeles-bound bus. While questioning this man about his immigration status, agents told him his ‘shoes looked suspicious,’ like those of someone who had recently crossed the border.” They literally judged him by his shoes. They had no proof of anything. If a man is judged by his shoes, who else and what else are being judged in the world?

In the novel  To Kill a Mockingbird , a character named Atticus states, “You just hold your head high and keep those fists down. No matter what anybody says to you, don’t you let’em get your goat. Try fighting with your head for a change.” No matter how much you might try to change yourself, your hairstyle, and your clothes, people will always make assumptions about you. However, you never need to change yourself to make a point or to feel like you fit in. Be yourself. Don’t let those stereotypes turn into facts.

Tiara Lewis is in the eighth grade. Tiara plays the clarinet and is trying to change the world— one essay at a time. She is most often found curled up on her bed, “Divergent” in one hand and a cream-filled doughnut in the other.

Hailee Park

 Wielding My Swords

If I were a swordsman, my weapons would be my identities. I would wield one sword in my left hand and another in my right. People expect me to use both fluently, but I’m not naturally ambidextrous. Even though I am a right-handed swordsman, wielding my dominant sword with ease, I must also carry a sword in my left, the heirloom of my family heritage. Although I try to live up to others’ expectations by using both swords, I may appear inexperienced while attempting to use my left. In some instances, my heirloom is mistaken for representing different families’ since the embellishments look similar.

Many assumptions are made about my heirloom sword based on its appearance, just as many assumptions are made about me based on my physical looks. “Are you Chinese?” When I respond with ‘no,’ they stare at me blankly in confusion. There is a multitude of Asian cultures in the United States, of which I am one. Despite what many others may assume, I am not Chinese; I am an American-born Korean.

“Then… are you Japanese?” Instead of asking a broader question, like “What is your ethnicity?,” they choose to ask a direct question. I reply that I am Korean. I like to think that this answers their question sufficiently; however, they think otherwise. Instead, I take this as their invitation to a duel.

They attack me with another question: “Are you from North Korea or South Korea?” I don’t know how to respond because I’m not from either of those countries; I was born in America. I respond with “South Korea,” where my parents are from because I assume that they’re asking me about my ethnicity. I’m not offended by this situation because I get asked these questions frequently. From this experience, I realize that people don’t know how to politely ask questions about identity to those unlike them. Instead of asking “What is your family’s ethnicity?,” many people use rude alternatives, such as “Where are you from?,” or “What language do you speak?”

When people ask these questions, they make assumptions based on someone’s appearance. In my case, people make inferences like:

“She must be really good at speaking Korean.”

“She’s Asian; therefore, she must be born in Asia.”

“She’s probably Chinese.”

These thoughts may appear in their heads because making assumptions is natural. However, there are instances when assumptions can be taken too far. Some U.S. Border Patrol agents in the “Constitution-free zone” have made similar assumptions based on skin color and clothing. For example, agents marked someone as an undocumented immigrant because “his shoes looked suspicious, like those of someone who had recently crossed the border.”

Another instance was when a Jamaican grandmother was forced off a bus when she was visiting her granddaughter. The impetus was her accent and the color of her skin. Government officials chose to act on their assumptions, even though they had no solid proof that the grandmother was an undocumented immigrant. These situations just touch the surface of the issue of racial injustice in America.

When someone makes unfair assumptions about me, they are pointing their sword and challenging me to a duel; I cannot refuse because I am already involved. It is not appropriate for anyone, including Border Patrol agents, to make unjustified assumptions or to act on those assumptions. Border Patrol agents have no right to confiscate the swords of the innocent solely based on their conjectures. The next time I’m faced with a situation where racially ignorant assumptions are made about me, I will refuse to surrender my sword, point it back at them, and triumphantly fight their ignorance with my cultural pride.

Hailee Park is an eighth grader who enjoys reading many genres. While reading, Hailee recognized the racial injustices against immigrants in America, which inspired her essay. Hailee plays violin in her school’s orchestra and listens to and composes music. 

Aminata Toure

East Harlem School, New York City, N.Y.

We Are Still Dreaming

As a young Muslim American woman, I have been labeled things I am not: a terrorist, oppressed, and an ISIS supporter. I have been accused of planning 9/11, an event that happened before I was born. Lately, in the media, Muslims have been portrayed as supporters of a malevolent cause, terrorizing others just because they do not have the same beliefs. I often scoff at news reports that portray Muslims in such a light, just as I scoff at all names I’ve been labeled. They are words that do not define me. 

In a land where labels have stripped immigrants of their personalities, they are now being stripped of something that makes them human: their rights. The situation described in Lornet Turnbull’s article, “Two-Thirds of Americans are Living in the ‘Constitution-Free Zone’,” goes directly against the Constitution, the soul of this country, something that asserts that we are all equal before the law. If immigrants do not have protection from the Constitution, is there any way to feel safe?

Although most insults are easy to shrug off, they are still threatening. I am ashamed when I feel afraid to go to the mosque. Friday is an extremely special day when we gather together to pray, but lately, I haven’t been going to the mosque for Jummah prayers. I have realized that I can never feel safe when in a large group of Muslims because of the widespread hatred of Muslims in the United States, commonly referred to as Islamophobia. Police surround our mosque, and there are posters warning us about dangerous people who might attack our place of worship because we have been identified as terrorists.

I wish I could tune out every news report that blasts out the headline “Terrorist Attack!” because I know that I will be judged based on the actions of someone else. Despite this anti-Muslim racism, what I have learned from these insults is that I am proud of my faith. I am a Muslim, but being Muslim doesn’t define me. I am a writer, a student, a dreamer, a friend, a New Yorker, a helper, and an American. I am unapologetically me, a Muslim, and so much more. I definitely think everyone should get to know a Muslim. They would see that some of us are also Harry Potter fans, not just people planning to bomb the White House.

Labels are unjustly placed on us because of the way we speak, the color of our skin, and what we believe in—not for who we are as individuals. Instead, we should all take more time to get to know one another. As Martin Luther King Jr. said in his “I Have a Dream” speech, we should be judged by the content of our character and not the color of our skin. To me, it seems Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream is a dream that should be a reality. But, for now, we are dreaming.

Aminata Toure is a Guinean American Muslim student. Aminata loves spoken-word poetry and performs in front of hundreds of people at her school’s annual poetry slam. She loves writing, language, history, and West African food and culture. Aminata wants to work at the United Nations when she grows up.

From the Author 

Dear Alessandra, Cain, Daniel, Tiara, Emma, Hailee, Aminata and Ethan,

I am moved and inspired by the thought each of you put into your responses to my story about this so-called “Constitution-free zone.” Whether we realize it or not, immigration in this country impacts all of us— either because we are immigrants ourselves, have neighbors, friends, and family who are, or because we depend on immigrants for many aspects of our lives—from the food we put on our tables to the technology that bewitches us. It is true that immigrants enrich our society in so many important ways, as many of you point out.

And while the federal statute that permits U.S. Border Patrol officers to stop and search at will any of the 200 million of us in this 100-mile shadow border, immigrants have been their biggest targets. In your essays, you highlight how unjust the law is—nothing short of racial profiling. It is heartening to see each of you, in your own way, speaking out against the unfairness of this practice.

Alessandra, you are correct, the immigration system in this country is in shambles. You make a powerful argument about how profiling ostracizes entire communities and how the warrantless searches allowed by this statute impede trust-building between law enforcement and the people they are called on to serve.

And Cain, you point out how this 100-mile zone, along with other laws in the state of Texas where you attended school, make people feel like they’re “always under surveillance, and that, at any moment, you may be pulled over to be questioned and detained.” It seems unimaginable that people live their lives this way, yet millions in this country do.

You, Emma, for example, speak of living in a kind of silent fear since Donald Trump took office, even though you were born in this country and your parents are here legally. You are right, “We shouldn’t have to live in fear that our rights will be taken away.”

And Aminata, you write of being constantly judged and labeled because you’re a Muslim American. How unfortunate and sad that in a country that generations of people fled to search for religious freedom, you are ashamed at times to practice your own. The Constitution-free zone, you write, “goes directly against the Constitution, the soul of this country, something that asserts that we are all equal before the law.”

Tiara, I could personally relate to your gripping account of being racially profiled and humiliated in a store. You were appalled that the Greyhound passenger in California was targeted by Border Patrol because they claimed his shoes looked like those of someone who had walked across the border: “If a man is judged by his shoes,” you ask, “who else and what else are getting judged in the world?”

Hailee, you write about the incorrect assumptions people make about you, an American born of Korean descent, based solely on your appearance and compared it to the assumptions Border Patrol agents make about those they detain in this zone.

Daniel, you speak of the role of political fearmongering in immigration. It’s not new, but under the current administration, turning immigrants into boogiemen for political gain is currency. You write that “For some politicians, it is easier to sell a border wall to a scared population than it is to explain the need for reformed immigration policy.”

And Ethan, you recognize the contributions immigrants make to this country through the connections we all make with them and the strength they bring to our society.

Keep speaking your truth. Use your words and status to call out injustice wherever and whenever you see it. Untold numbers of people spoke out against this practice by Border Patrol and brought pressure on Greyhound to change. In December, the company began offering passengers written guidance—in both Spanish and English—so they understand what their rights are when officers board their bus. Small steps, yes, but progress nonetheless, brought about by people just like you, speaking up for those who sometimes lack a voice to speak up for themselves.

With sincere gratitude,

Lornet Turnbull

Lornet Turnbull is an editor for YES! and a Seattle-based freelance writer. Follow her on Twitter  @TurnbullL .

We received many outstanding essays for the Winter 2019 Student Writing Competition. Though not every participant can win the contest, we’d like to share some excerpts that caught our eye:

After my parents argued with the woman, they told me if you can fight with fists, you prove the other person’s point, but when you fight with the power of your words, you can have a much bigger impact. I also learned that I should never be ashamed of where I am from. —Fernando Flores, The East Harlem School, New York City, N.Y.

Just because we were born here and are privileged to the freedom of our country, we do not have the right to deprive others of a chance at success. —Avalyn Cox, Brier Terrace Middle School, Brier, Wash.

Maybe, rather than a wall, a better solution to our immigration problem would be a bridge. —Sean Dwyer, Lane Community College, Eugene, Ore.

If anything, what I’ve learned is that I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to change our world. I don’t know how to make a difference, how to make my voice heard. But I have learned the importance of one word, a simple two-letter word that’s taught to the youngest of us, a word we all know but never recognize: the significance of ‘we.’ —Enna Chiu, Highland Park High School, Highland Park, N.J.

Not to say the Border Patrol should not have authorization to search people within the border, but I am saying it should be near the border, more like one mile, not 100. —Cooper Tarbuck, Maranacook Middle School, Manchester, Maine.

My caramel color, my feminism, my Spanish and English language, my Mexican culture, and my young Latina self gives me the confidence to believe in myself, but it can also teach others that making wrong assumptions about someone because of their skin color, identity, culture, looks or gender can make them look and be weaker. —Ana Hernandez, The East Harlem School, New York City, N.Y.

We don’t need to change who we are to fit these stereotypes like someone going on a diet to fit into a new pair of pants. —Kaylee Meyers, Brier Terrace Middle School, Brier, Wash.

If a human being with no criminal background whatsoever has trouble entering the country because of the way he or she dresses or speaks, border protection degenerates into arbitrariness. —Jonas Schumacher, Heidelberg University of Education, Heidelberg, Germany

I believe that you should be able to travel freely throughout your own country without the constant fear of needing to prove that you belong here . —MacKenzie Morgan, Lincoln Middle School, Ypsilanti, Mich.

America is known as “the Land of Opportunity,” but this label is quickly disappearing. If we keep stopping those striving for a better life, then what will become of this country? —Ennyn Chiu, Highland Park Middle School, Highland Park, N.J.

The fact that two-thirds of the people in the U.S. are living in an area called the “Constitution-free zone” is appalling. Our Constitution was made to protect our rights as citizens, no matter where we are in the country. These systems that we are using to “secure” our country are failing, and we need to find a way to change them. —Isis Liaw, Brier Terrace Middle School, Brier, Wash.

I won’t let anyone, especially a man, tell me what I can do, because I am a strong Latina. I will represent where I come from, and I am proud to be Mexican. I will show others that looks can be deceiving. I will show others that even the weakest animal, a beautiful butterfly, is tough, and it will cross any border, no matter how challenging the journey may be. —Brittany Leal, The East Harlem School, New York City, N.Y.

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Six Things Undocumented Students Need to Know About College

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Are you worried that if you're undocumented (i.e., born outside the United States and not a U.S. citizen or legal resident) you can't go to college? Think again.

Undocumented and mixed status children can enroll in public schools in the U.S. from kindergarten through 12th grade. This is protected by federal law and was affirmed by the Supreme Court case Plyler v. Doe in 1982. However, accessing higher education can be more complicated for undocumented students, depending on state laws and regulations.

If you're a high school student who's undocumented, you probably have a lot of questions about going to college. Get the facts and learn how to make it happen. Here are some important facts to know.

1. You Can Go to College

First, you should know that no federal law prevents U.S. colleges from admitting undocumented students. A few states have restricted these students from attending public colleges and universities. However, in most cases, colleges set their own rules on admitting undocumented students. Research the policies of colleges you’re interested in attending.

You should also know that undocumented students can’t receive federal financial aid for college─the type of aid that many college students rely on. However, undocumented students can get financial assistance or scholarships for college in other ways. To find out more, read Undocumented Students: Questions and Answers About Paying for College .

Your undocumented status might limit your choices, but college is still an option if you have a plan. Your best strategy is to start planning early, do a lot of research, and ask plenty of questions.

2. You're Not Alone

You'll have to put in the work it takes to get to college. Building a support network is key.

Start with your family. Make sure they know you want to go to college. Talk with them about your options for choosing a college and paying for your education.

You can also seek advice from trusted teachers and counselors at your high school. Along with guiding you, they might be able to put you in touch with other undocumented students who have successfully enrolled in college or with college admissions counselors who can help you.

If you're worried about telling teachers and counselors that you're undocumented, be aware that, by law, school officials can’t disclose personal information about students─including their immigration status.

3. You Can Find a College That Fits You

As you look for colleges that match your wants and needs, you should find out if the colleges you're interested in have programs, student organizations, or centers that support first-generation undocumented and mixed status students. Checking out college websites and publications is a good place to start.

Here are some things to remember when looking at colleges:

• Different colleges have different policies on admitting undocumented students.
• Different colleges have different policies on awarding nonfederal financial aid to undocumented students. Read For Undocumented Students: Questions and Answers About Paying for College  for more information.
• Public colleges must follow their state’s laws on issues such as whether undocumented students who live in the state can pay in-state tuition or must pay out-of-state tuition. Download the  Repository of Resources for Undocumented Students  (.pdf/1MB) to see information and resources for several states.

4. You’ll Apply Like Any Other Student

The college application process is usually the same for all students. You'll need to find out the colleges' admission requirements regarding testing, grades, and the high school classes you need to take. You may be asked to write a personal essay and get letters of recommendation, among other application requirements.

Learn more by reading  Quick Guide: The Anatomy of the College Application .

The best way for any student to prepare for college is to work hard in high school. Colleges look at your grades and the kinds of classes you take, so it's a great idea to take college-level courses, such as Advanced Placement® classes. Many colleges award credit based on scores on AP Exams, which can save students money on tuition.

5. Your Options May Change

Laws and regulations regarding undocumented students change. It’s important to keep up with the news about how these changes may affect your college plans.

For more information on changes to DACA and other policies affecting undocumented students, visit the U.S. Department of Homeland Security or the Immigrant Legal Resource Center .

6. You Can Find Resources to Help You

Here are some additional websites with helpful information:

• The Dream. US
• Immigrant Legal Resource Center
• National Immigration Law Center
• Immigration Equality
• Scholarship Resources  on the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund website

What’s an undocumented student?

The term "undocumented student" refers to a student who lives in the country but doesn’t have documentation for legal residency in the United States. Undocumented status may result from various circumstances, including entering the country without authorization, overstaying a visa, or being brought to the country as a child by undocumented

Can undocumented students go to college?

Yes. In the United States, undocumented students can attend college, but they may face financial and legal barriers. Undocumented students aren’t eligible for federal financial aid, including grants and loans. However, some states have implemented policies that allow undocumented students to qualify for in-state tuition rates or offer state-funded financial aid programs. Additionally, some private scholarships and institutional aid opportunities are designated for undocumented students.

What states accept undocumented students?

Several states in the United States have implemented policies supporting undocumented students in accessing higher education. These examples include California's Dream Act, New York’s Dream Act, Texas’s Dream Act, and Illinois’s Dream Act. Because requirements and opportunities can vary, undocumented students should stay updated and research their options. Additionally, some private institutions may have their own policies and scholarships for undocumented students. Exploring those options is also worthwhile.

How can an undocumented student become legal?

Legalizing the status of undocumented individuals is a complex process. Potential pathways include asylum, family sponsorship, employment-based immigration, special programs, and deferred action. Any undocumented student will want to seek legal advice to determine the best option for their individual circumstances.

What resources are available to undocumented students pursuing higher education?

Many organizations and nonprofits offer college access programs tailored specifically to undocumented students. Such programs provide guidance on college exploration, admissions, financial aid, and scholarship opportunities. Additionally, many colleges and universities often have dedicated offices or staff members who specialize in supporting undocumented students with admissions policies, financial aid options, scholarships, and campus resources. Finally, undocumented students can seek assistance from immigration attorneys or accredited immigration organizations for legal guidance on their immigration status, potential pathways to legalization, and understanding of their rights.

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Undocumented Students as Students

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Are we missing out on an opportunity to enhance the supply of people in the United States who are prepared for careers that require higher education? Should we encourage the presence of undocumented immigrants in that pool?

Discussion about who has the right to come to the United States and what they are entitled to after arrival has been ongoing since our country’s founding. Often, including recently, this discussion has concerned the rights of immigrants to higher education, and to monetary support for that education. Such discussions have become particularly heated regarding immigrants whose presence in the U.S. has not been officially sanctioned

For over 10 years, various legislators have proposed different versions of what is known as the DREAM Act. If made law, the DREAM Act would make some undocumented higher education students eligible for the financial supports available to American citizens and permanent residents, for example in-state tuition and federal work-study programs, and provide a path to full legal status in the U.S. Although no version of the DREAM Act has as yet become federal law, some states have allowed undocumented college students to be eligible for in-state tuition at the state’s public colleges. New York is one such state. However, the in-state tuition is limited to undocumented students who have graduated from a New York State high school after several years of attendance, and who are making satisfactory progress in college. In addition, undocumented college students in New York State remain ineligible for New York State’s Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) and for federal Pell Grants, among other financial supports. Florida has recently enacted a policy similar to New York’s. 

At the City University of New York (CUNY) the situation of undocumented students, who compose approximately 3 percent of undergraduates, is complex. In two recent papers , Dylan Conger and Colin C. Chellman demonstrated that, in a large CUNY sample, undocumented students were as well-prepared for college as were U.S. citizens. Further, undocumented students performed better than U.S. citizens, and as well as or better than permanent residents, in terms of grades and completion of associate degrees. Nevertheless, undocumented students were less likely to complete their bachelor’s degrees, a finding that the authors suggested might be due to these students’ lack of state and federal financial aid.

The purpose of the present piece is not to tell colleges and universities, or state and federal agencies, what they should do concerning financial aid for undocumented students. The purpose of the present piece is simply to provide evidence, including some additional, new evidence, regarding the potential benefits of immigrant students — whether documented or undocumented — to our economy. 

We already know that:

• The United States has more jobs that require a college education than there are American citizens and permanent residents with those qualifications, and that gap is growing .
• There is a significant financial benefit to graduating from college.
• College graduates benefit our society in a great many ways. For example, Professor Henry Levin’s analysis of (CUNY’s) highly successful ASAP program showed that this program, one that more than doubles associate-degree completion rates, will result in lower public assistance, public health, and criminal justice system expenditures, and greater tax revenue.
• Financial support of college students increases the probability of their graduation, as well as decreases the amount of time to their graduation .

Together, these findings suggest that were we to do more to financially support academically qualified students in college, our society would benefit in multiple ways. The additional information that we present here concerns which students tend to major in the fields that lead to relatively more remunerative positions, and thus which students’ financial support might particularly contribute to a sufficient supply of people qualified for positions that promote our society’s economic growth.

For many years, research has reported that students who come from less economically privileged backgrounds are more likely to choose majors, such as business and engineering, that tend to lead to relatively more highly compensated careers. An early example of this research is Raymond Boudon’s 1974 book Education, Opportunity and Social Inequality .

However, our recent research has found that, in a diverse CUNY cohort of over 9,000 baccalaureate students, other student characteristics — whether a student is a member of an ethnic or racial minority or, what is most relevant to the present piece, was born outside the U.S. (a characteristic of 38 percent of CUNY’s 240,000 undergraduates) — are variables more closely associated with choice of major. Students with these characteristics are significantly more likely to choose to major in business and engineering than are other students. Due to the fact that students with these characteristics also tend to come from families that have lower incomes, descriptive statistics considered alone suggest a correlation between family income and major choice, at least in the CUNY sample. However, as demonstrated in regression analyses, the strongest relationship with major choice is immigrant status. Immigrant students may therefore contribute disproportionately to the popularity of certain relatively more remunerative majors and thus to the pool of candidates qualified to fill jobs that most benefit the economy.  Supporting these findings, in on of their papers, Conger and Chellman have shown that undocumented students are more likely to major in business and engineering than are American citizens.

For all of these reasons, it seems that it could be helpful to our economy to assist immigrant students in finishing college by providing them with financial aid, for example. This conclusion leads, then, to the question of whether, and how, to aid the college education of the subset of immigrant students who are undocumented.  As mentioned earlier, different states have different approaches to this.

However, merely providing undocumented students with financial aid will not necessarily allow these students to maximize their potential societal contributions. For example, CUNY’s undocumented students are unable to participate in the clinical training portion of the nursing major because they cannot obtain the malpractice insurance and/or the permission to work in hospitals required for that training. So, even if undocumented CUNY students obtain sufficient funds for college and earn a perfect 4.0 grade point average in all of their courses, they cannot become nurses. This is unfortunate because, as Conger and Chellman’s research has indicated, CUNY’s undocumented students include many potentially outstanding nurses, and New York City consistently needs highly qualified nurses.   

The lack of financial aid and other supports for undocumented students eliminates economic and other benefits that could accrue to our society from a greater number of college graduates. The City of New York has a long history, dating from centuries before the founding of CUNY, of welcoming immigrants and of prospering as a result. In his book The Island at the Center of the World , Russell Shorto describes how the original Dutch colony of New Amsterdam encouraged immigrants and entrepreneurship of all sorts, policies whose positive influence is felt to this day. Shorto details how diversity and tolerance resulted in positive economic consequences for the colony and established a long-lasting, economically advantageous pattern of behavior for New York City. Encouraging immigration and encouraging higher education are conceptually linked in that both have to do with increasing access to opportunity and with increasing the presence in society of certain talents and skills. Both involve maximizing our society’s natural human resources.

We recognize, however, that providing financial aid to undocumented students might encourage more individuals and families to come to or stay in the United States illegally in order to obtain reduced-cost education. Various versions of the DREAM Act have been designed to take such possible consequences into account by providing financial aid only for a select portion of undocumented students. One example is the federal version of the DREAM Act currently being proposed by New York’s Senator Chuck Schumer. In this version , undocumented people may become United States permanent residents (and thus be eligible for federal financial aid) only if (1) they have been registered as provisional immigrants for at least five years; (2) initially entered the U.S. when younger than 16; (3) have a U.S. high school diploma or GED; (4) have a college degree, or have completed at least two years in good standing in a bachelor’s program, or have served honorably in the U.S. Uniformed Services for at least four years; and (5) have passed various security and law enforcement background checks. Under this proposal, the people who would benefit from the DREAM Act would be long-term U.S. residents who are very likely to be positive contributors to the national economy and society, people who frequently were brought here as young children at someone else’s initiative, and who know no home other than the U.S. 

Campaigns for access to education have long been seen as fights for individual rights. In 1949 W.E.B. Du Bois stated: “Of all the civil rights for which the world has struggled and fought for 5,000 years, the right to learn is undoubtedly the most fundamental.”  There are also practical benefits for an entire society of maximizing the number of people who attend, and complete, college. Higher education can yield positive consequences, not only for the individuals who partake of it, but also for our economy as a whole. Undocumented students as a group constitute a significant pool from which to reap these benefits.

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Sat / act prep online guides and tips, can undocumented immigrants go to college.

College Admissions

In this article, I’ll detail the rules and obstacles for undocumented students who pursue higher education.

College Admission Policies for Undocumented Immigrants

There is no federal law that prohibits the admission of undocumented immigrants to either public or private US colleges . However, institutional policies can vary, and some states have placed restrictions on undocumented students from attending in-state postsecondary institutions.

The Georgia Board of Regents banned undocumented students from attending the top 5 state-funded colleges in Georgia. Also, Alabama and South Carolina prohibit undocumented students from enrolling at any public postsecondary institution.

Despite these prohibitions, the majority of US colleges remain open to undocumented students .

Many colleges are becoming increasingly vocal and open about their support for undocumented immigrant students. This year, Rutgers University-Newark held a college admissions fair for undocumented students.

Furthermore, top colleges like Stanford, Dartmouth, Duke, and the University of Chicago have stated that they welcome the applications of undocumented students and have undocumented students enrolled.

Regardless of citizenship status, you can be a college grad!

However, even though undocumented immigrants can be admitted to most of the nation's colleges, financial obstacles make attending much more difficult.

Financial Issues for Undocumented Immigrants

Undoubtedly, the biggest hurdles for undocumented students going to college are financial.

Federal Aid

Undocumented students can't legally receive any federally funded aid , including loans, grants, scholarships, or work-study money. Most students who need financial assistance to attend college fill out a FAFSA, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and are given federal grants and loans based on their expected family contribution. Undocumented students do not have this option because they're ineligible for all forms of federal aid.

State Aid and In-State Tuition

Many states treat undocumented students like foreign students. In these states, undocumented immigrants are ineligible for state aid and the lower in-state tuition charged to residents at state institutions.

Arizona, Georgia, and Indiana specifically prohibit in-state tuition rates for undocumented students.

States That Offer In-State Tuition

Some states, though, have passed laws that enable undocumented students to pay in-state tuition if they meet certain conditions, and trends seem to indicate that more states will offer in-state tuition to undocumented students in the future.

Currently, 16 states have laws allowing undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition provided they meet certain requirements: California , Colorado , Connecticut , Florida , Illinois , Kansas , Maryland , Minnesota , Nebraska , New Jersey , New Mexico , New York , Oregon , Texas , Utah , and Washington .

For example, California has a state law known as AB 540 . Undocumented students qualify for in-state tuition if they attend a California high school for 3 years, graduate from a California high school, and fill out an affidavit that says they will apply for US residency as soon as possible.

Additionally, Oklahoma and Rhode Island allow in-state tuition rates for undocumented students through Board of Regents' decisions.

And, in 2013, the University of Hawaii's and the University of Michigan's Board of Regents adopted policies for undocumented students to have access to in-state tuition at those colleges.

States That Give Aid

Presently, California , Minnesota , New Mexico , Texas , and Washington allow undocumented students to receive state aid.

Private Scholarships

Most private scholarships require applicants to be US citizens or legal residents. However, there are some scholarships that are open to undocumented immigrants and an increasing number of scholarships are specifically for undocumented students.

For more information regarding private scholarships for undocumented students, check out:

Golden Door Scholars

TheDream.US

MALDEF Scholarship Resources

QuestBridge

Becas Univision Scholarship

Furthermore, you can review this scholarship guide for undocumented students.

In addition to these scholarships, some private colleges, including NYU , grant scholarships or other aid to undocumented students.

How to Address Your Citizenship on Your Application

If you're an undocumented student, don't lie or misrepresent your citizenship status on your application . Leave your social security number blank . Don't put in an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, Alien number, or any other number.

For the University of California, undocumented students should select "No Selection" for their country of citizenship.

In your application essay, absolutely, feel free to address your immigration status and situation . Colleges want to hear about obstacles that you've had to overcome, but don't let those obstacles define you . The purpose of the application essay is for the school to get to know you and get a better sense of how you could possibly contribute to the college's community.

Focus on your accomplishments and what makes you unique as an individual .

The Federal Education and Privacy Act (FERPA) protects the privacy of student records at all educational institutions. Whatever you write in your essay or talk about with admissions or financial aid counselors will not be reported.

Additional Advice for Undocumented Immigrants

The two federal laws you should be aware of are DACA and the DREAM Act . If you are DACA eligible, you can get a work permit and be freed from the fear of deportation for at least 2 years. Unfortunately, you still won't be eligible for federal financial aid.

The DREAM Act has not been passed and has undergone numerous changes since it was first proposed in 2001. However, if it ever passes, it could have a profound impact on higher education access for undocumented students. Also, if it does pass, you'll be on a path to citizenship if you attend college.

If you have a good relationship with your counselor, talk with him or her about your options and get guidance. Remember, though, you do not have to reveal your immigration status or your parents' to any school personnel, and they can't ask you about it .

Make yourself competitive for college admission . Get good grades, take college prep classes, do well on your standardized tests, and try to participate in extracurricular activities. Because your immigration status may limit your options, you should do what you can to give yourself the most opportunities. Additionally, some of the scholarships that you're eligible for are more likely to go to high achieving students.

Contact admissions officers and financial aid counselors at the schools you're interested in attending . Typically, they'll try to be helpful and they won't report your immigration status. They can inform you of their financial aid options for undocumented students and let you know how to fill out the school's application, specifically in regards to questions about citizenship and residency.

Do research on colleges that offer support for undocumented students . For example, UCLA and UC Berkeley have support programs that provide services and advice for undocumented students.

Finally, look at the Repository of Resources For Undocumented Students . It has information about state laws. Also, it has information about scholarships you may be eligible for and organizations that can offer you support and advice.

While you may have more hurdles to overcome, graduating from college is possible and will likely give you a better life and future.

What's Next?

If you're an undocumented student, there may be additional factors to consider, but you should review this post on how to choose a college . Also, you'll want to know the best college search websites .

Lastly, if you're wondering how to make yourself as competitive for college admission as possible, read this article on building the most versatile college application .

Justin has extensive experience teaching SAT prep and guiding high school students through the college admissions and selection process. He is firmly committed to improving equity in education and helping students to reach their educational goals. Justin received an athletic scholarship for gymnastics at Stanford University and graduated with a BA in American Studies.

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Op-Ed: The immigrant experience, as told by college essays

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For more than 20 years, Marcos M. Villatoro has read and graded hundreds of essays about immigration as a writing teacher at Mount St. Mary’s University in Los Angeles. Here are excerpts from two student essays.

‘What if this coyotaje stole her daughter?’

I don’t know whether my mother left my father or whether she tried to get him to come with us to America. I like to think that my dad didn’t want us to leave, but my mom chose herself and [me] rather than a man who wanted to hold her back from all the infinite possibilities a new life in America could only give her. Only she and I crossed the border. We went on an airplane. The winds howled and the rain felt like it shook our plane. I screamed every time I saw the lightning and heard the thunder that followed. I was 4 and this is one of the truths I wish I could forget.

I was later told that when we landed, my mother was instructed by a coyotaje to separate from me and allow me to go with her and pretend she was my mother. They said it was so we could all blend in better. My mother refused. What if this coyotaje stole her daughter? There would be no way to track me down. The police wouldn’t help her, her family wouldn’t be able to help her because those that were already in America barely had a faint grasp of it and those who were in Mexico could do even less.

— Diana Rodriguez, who graduated in 2018

Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute »

‘The day that my uncle got deported’

Santa Fe del Rio, Michoacán, is where I am from. I was brought into a new country with no self-expectation nor self-identity. I did not understand what it meant to be far from home until one day, the news [came] that my grandparents’ visa was no longer valid and due to circumstances, they could not apply for a renewal. The day that my uncle got deported is the day when I was old enough to understand that odds are, I probably won’t ever see them again.

For a good period of my life, I did not care about the fact that I was and am undocumented, however the time to apply to college began and I noticed that being undocumented according to others is who I am. ... When the personal statements were due, my college counselors would repeatedly tell me to write about being undocumented, but I soon came to realize that being undocumented doesn’t make me. ... Esa no soy yo (That’s not me).

— E.O., a student who asked to be identified only by her initials

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71 Illegal Immigration Essay Topics & Examples

Looking for illegal immigration essay topics? The issue of undocumented immigration is hot, controversial, and worth exploring.

• 📝 Essay: How to Write

👍 Essay Topics & Examples

🔍 research paper topics & examples, ❓ questions about illegal immigration for research paper.

Illegal immigration refers to undocumented migration of people into a county in violation of the according immigration laws of that country. Illegal immigrants face a number of problems, like the risk of being enslaved, health problems due to the lack of access to public health systems, and many more. Whether you’re planning to write a 5-paragraph essay or a thesis about illegal immigration, the article below will be helpful. Here you’ll find everything all you might need to write an A+ immigration essay. There are research paper ideas, tips, & illegal immigration essay examples.

📝 Illegal Immigration Essay: How to Write

Illegal immigration essays are familiar to anyone studying sociology, politics, human rights, and other similar subjects. Today, there is plenty of information about illegal immigration on the Internet, so you shouldn’t worry about finding things to write about. What you absolutely need to pay attention to is the structure. The tips in this post will help you to nail your next illegal immigration essay!

Tip 1: Create a list of possible topics. Illegal immigration is a rather broad subject, so you will need to narrow it down a little bit. For example, you may want to write about the pros and cons of illegal immigration. Argumentative papers on this subject could be particularly successful if your points are strong and supported by evidence.

Tip 2: Write down a title. You may want to postpone this step until you’re one-on-one with the paper, but finding the right title will aid you in structuring the essay. There are numerous online resources that you could use to browse illegal immigration essay topics and titles. If nothing comes to mind, compose a thesis statement and use it as a preliminary title to help you focus.

Tip 3: Collect ideas. While you may have studied illegal immigration already, don’t write down any points until you’ve done your research. Be sure to check a variety of sources, including scholarly articles, government reports, newspaper articles, and editorial pieces. This will ensure that your overview of the chosen theme is comprehensive. Try to avoid sites such as Wikipedia, online encyclopedias, and blogs. While there may be some good points there, your tutor will most likely reject sources that are not academic quality. Hence, you should stick to publications from reputable sources to avoid losing marks! Write down all the key statements, information, and arguments that you can find online.

Tip 4: Prepare an outline. An outline is the backbone of your paper on illegal immigration. Argumentative essay outline examples would usually include an introduction, two points supporting your position, one point against it, a rebuttal, and a conclusion. A persuasive paper would have a different outline, with more supporting points and no opposing opinions. An informative essay will have an introduction, background, three to five main points, and a conclusion. Create a basic outline for the chosen essay type and don’t worry about adding information to each section yet.

Tip 5: Organize your points in a sequence. Now, return to the list of points you’ve already made and see which ones fit into the outline nicely. The most general information should go into the introduction, where you describe the problem and your approach. You should finish your introduction with an illegal immigration essay thesis to show the focus of the paper. In the next sections, your points should escalate in complexity. For example, you can start with the history of immigration, then consider recent data on undocumented immigrants, and then discuss the opportunities for immigration reform. Write each point as a topic sentence and ensure that they follow in a logical sequence. Delete any information that doesn’t fit – you won’t regret it later!

A paper structured based on these tips will be interesting to read and earn your tutor’s approval. If you need to write an essay about immigration in the United States, don’t forget to check our free sample papers!

• Effects of illegal immigration on the economy of the United States and the measures that be taken to minimize the effect The study will include the demographics of the illegal immigration, its history, the immigration policy, and the impact that the illegal immigration has on the economy of the United States.
• Strategies for Solving the Issue of Illegal Immigration in the US The first one is enforcing the measures preventing it, and the second one is changing immigration policy in order to make legalization easier.
• Ethics of Illegal Immigration Effects on the US As such, the Immigration Act of 1924 was established, which promoted the immigration of foreign citizens into the US to meet these requirements, and also created several objective preconditions for foreigners to consider entering America […]
• Migration and National Security The author has noted that there is a close relationship between immigrants and these issues and this call for the need to evaluate the application of these policies in controlling the activities of immigrants in […]
• Illegal Immigration Policies and Violent Crime The authors of this article discuss how illegal immigration and border enforcement influence the level of crime along the U.S.-Mexico border.
• The Birth of Illegal Immigration In addition, Americans blamed Chinese immigrants for low wages and the unemployment rate, which further influenced the ban on Asians to move to the U.S.
• Illegal Immigration Control in the Texas Although the public assigns immense powers to the governor’s office, Texas’ office of the governor enjoys weak institutional powers because of the constitution’s provision of multiple offices that server alongside the office of the governor.
• The Illegal Immigration Prevention Policy For example, one of the biggest of them would be the necessity to analyze all the gathered information. Therefore, it is safe to assume that there would be no shortage of information for the Chef […]
• Hispanic Americans as Illegal Immigration Thus a historical loyalty to the Democratic Party is still sustained even today At 15% the Hispanic-American population of the United States makes up the fastest growing minority in the United States.
• Illegal Immigration: Difference in Covering the Matter The aim of the paper is to discover the difference in covering the matter of illegal migration to Canary Islands from sub-Saharan including periodical issues, radio broadcasts, and a photo, in order not only to […]
• Illegal Immigration Issue in the USA The secure border could also be considered one of the possible solutions to the problem of illegal immigration as it will help to control this very aspect.
• Illegal Immigration, Its Causes, Methods, Effects It is the duty of immigration officers to update all the expired visas and ensure that either they are renewed or the victims leave the country.
• Illegal Immigration Crisis: Problems and Solutions For example, federal policy has led to the involvement of local law enforcement as immigration agents who have inherited the responsibilities of checking citizenship status and detaining those failing to produce documentation.
• Illegal Immigration as a Major Problem for the USA However, when it comes to defining the factors contributing to the growth of the unemployment rates among the local population, not only the growth of the number of immigrants, but also the quality of the […]
• America and the Problem of Illegal Immigration The presence of the illegal immigrants, commonly known as illegal aliens, is such massive numbers has brought the issue of illegal immigration to the limelight of the U.S.political scene, to the halls of Congress, and […]
• Sheriff Joe’s Illegal Immigration in Arizona Often dubbed as the “toughest sheriff in the United States”, the sheriff has the numbers to back his fight against illegal immigrants in his county.
• Illegal Immigration in the United States Another factor that calls for strict application of the law for the deportation of illegal immigrants in the United States is the fact that the legislation that has been in existence has provided avenues for […]
• Illegal Immigration Problem in the United States The fences that were set up to deter entry only covered part of the border and in the past decade, the government has been searching for better ways to control entry into the United States.
• Illegal Immigration in the USA Some of the most secure cities in the countries happen to be in the south. Kane and Johnson also add that immigrants are not a problem to the country’s economy; consequently, anti-immigration laws need not […]
• Is the Legalization of Illegal Aliens a Good Solution to Illegal Immigration in America? Huge numbers of illegal immigrants come from the southern borders of the US and especially on the US-Mexico border and to the north; the US-Canada border.
• Role of Frontex in Combating Illegal Immigration in the European Union Territory Surveillance on external borders With its headquarters in Warsaw, Poland, the European Agency for the management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the member states of the European Union is a body, which […]
• Illegal Immigration in the United States as an Economic Burden Finally, the economic challenge of illegal immigration also undermines the educational system in the United States. As it has been mentioned before, the illegal immigration in the Unites States creates both opportunities and shortcomings for […]
• The Issue of Muslims’ Immigration to Australia This increase was especially noticeable in the late 1940s and the early 1950s, following the overthrow of the monarchy in Egypt, resulting in the rise of the Arab nationalist movement.
• Stopping Illegal Immigration: Border Security The other reason for the need to stop illegal immigration is that the Illegal aliens are weighing down many systems in the country.
• Illegal Immigration in the United States The name of the article to be critiqued is, ‘The Economics and Policy of Illegal Immigration in the United States’. One of the hypotheses that have been supported by the article is that policymakers across […]
• Immigration and Illegal Foreigners in Japan However, the economic boom of the mid 1980s necessitated the use of foreign workers and this marked the first wave of immigrants in Japan.
• How Has Immigration Transformed the Life and Culture of London Over the Past 150 Years? Except in the recent years where the number has decreased as a result of the heightening recession, people seeking employment have always constituted the largest number of the total inflows in the UK.
• Socio-Economic Benefits of Immigrant Population in the US and Canada Immigration in the United States and Canada in the Post Hart-Cella Act and Canadian Immigration Act Era This paper addresses the socio-economic benefits of immigrant population in the United States of America and Canada.
• Illegal Immigration to the United States Fox News has argued that it is very difficult to actually determine how an increase in the number of illegal immigrants gets to affect the rate of crime in the United States.
• Economic advantages and disadvantages of immigration into the U.S. According to Geigenberger, because of this inability to get taxes from the majority of the immigrants, the government is always strained in the achievement of objectives.
• The Impacts of Illegal Immigration on the Country of Destination The illegal immigrants find a new life and find means of serving in the new destination, accordingly the country of destination realize some changes. Waldo disagree that illegal immigrants contribute to the economy of the […]
• Immigration Reform and the Economic Impact The emergence of immigration policy from the comprehensive immigration reform primarily seeks to implement a flexible legal immigration platform that would leverage the economic situations of the United States. The national GDP depends on the […]
• Immigration Bill in US This essay seeks to prove that it is proper for such people to acquire citizenship in the United States of America through the passing of the pending immigration bill.
• The Issue of Illegal Immigration On the other hand, opponents of immigration depict immigrants as a menace to the American people as it promotes the rise in criminal activities and causes an economic and social burden to taxpayers.
• Illegal Immigration: Views of Policy Makers, Media and General Public Illegal immigration into the U.S.is a billion dollar question that has fueled considerable public debate within the country in the past few years due the inherent social and economic costs that illegal immigration places on […]
• The Impact of Immigration on the Economy of the USA The USA is one of the most attractive countries to come for many specialists and workers from different countries of the World.
• Argument for Measures to Control Illegal Immigration One of the impacts of such immigration is the financial burden that is laid on the government in terms of making provisions for the immigrants.
• The Unemployed and Illegal Immigrants in the United States Are More Likely to Be Involved in Crime Than the Employed and Legal Immigrants The criteria of selection for the literature will be the relevance to the research topic as well as the year of publication.
• Free-rider Problem and Illegal Immigration The issue of free riding is inevitable in each and every country because of the presence of the presence of minors, tax evaders and illegal immigrants just to mention but a few.
• History of the Illegal Immigration into the U.S. It also proposes some policies to be implemented by the government in a bid to curtail the demerits of illegal immigrants When the house is granting citizenship to illegal immigrant, it should take note of […]
• Economic Contribution of Slaves and Present Day Legal and Illegal Immigration In Europe, slavery peaked in the fourteenth and ended in the late twentieth century after the emancipation of serfdom. The economy of a country is undoubtedly the last receptor of the effects of illegal immigrants.
• Illegal Immigrants and Amnesty: A Pro Argument This is given that the illegal immigrants will now be able to participate fully in the economy. However, they are of the view that, as much as this might be the case, this is not […]
• Legal Immigration versus Illegal Immigration in America Due to the large number of illegal immigrants in the U. Legal immigration in America is accompanied by introduction of new skills to the country.
• Implications of Illegal Immigration in the US According to politicians, an increase in the number of illegal immigrants is highly likely to destabilize the law of the land, as well as disrupt the government’s planning and implementation of the labor market laws.
• Analyzing the Issue of Illegal Immigration in the US Illegal immigration is one of the main disasters of the USA. The Mexico illegal immigrants remain one of the most devastating problems of the USA.
• Arizona Immigration Law: What For? Lately though, the signing of an immigration law that seems to curtail the freedom of the people by Governor Jan Brewer rattled some feathers not only in the state, but in the larger US and […]
• Does Border Enforcement Protect U.S. Workers From Illegal Immigration?
• Does Illegal Immigration Empower Rightist Parties?
• How Illegal Immigration Effects the Economy and the School System in the U.S.?
• How Should America Handle Illegal Immigration?
• Who Has the Most Impact on Illegal Immigration Policy?
• Why the Border Fence May Not Be the Solution for the Illegal Immigration?
• Why the Federal Government Can’t End Illegal Immigration in the US?
• What Are the Common Causes of Illegal Immigration?
• What Is the Role of Smugglers in Illegal Immigration and Border Enforcement?
• What Is the Effect of Illegal Immigration on the Hospitality and Food Industry?
• What Is President Donald Trump’s Zero Tolerance Policy Effect on Illegal Immigration?
• What Are the Welfare Effects of Illegal Immigration?
• What Are the Emerging Geopolitics of Illegal Immigration in the EU?
• What Is the Rational Approach to Illegal Immigration?
• What Is Theory of Permissible Illegal Immigration?
• What Are the Links Between Illegal Immigration and Organized Crime?
• What Are the Strategic Perspectives on Illegal Immigration Into South Africa?
• What Are the Perspectives and Challenges of Asylum Policy and Illegal Immigration?
• How Illegal Immigration Laws Affect the Economic of Texas?
• What Is the All-American Canal and What Are Its Effects on Illegal Immigration?
• What Is the Controversy Surrounding Arizona’s Anti-illegal Immigration Legislation?
• Why Is Turkey a Transit Country for Illegal Immigration to EU?
• What Is the Role of Informality, Taxation and Trade in Illegal Immigration?
• What Is the European Union’s Anti-illegal Immigration Discourse?
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Resources for Applying to College as an Undocumented Student

Resources for accessing higher education.

Being undocumented and going through the college search and application process can feel isolating, particularly if your school doesn’t know much about college affordability options for undocumented students, but you are not alone! There are more than 450,000 undocumented students currently enrolled in higher education who have already navigated the same process you are starting now. If they can do it, so can you! In addition, many undocumented and formerly undocumented folks who were once in the same position as you are now have created resources to help guide students through the college application process.

Reminder: Your high school teachers and other staff are legally prohibited from asking about your immigration status . You have the power to disclose information about your immigration status if, and when you feel comfortable doing so.

Terms You Should Know

There are many terms, processes, and programs you will likely hear as you start your college search that may be new to you. Below are a few terms that come up frequently during the college search, including some that are particularly relevant to undocumented students.

The Common Application is a college admissions application used by over 800 colleges and universities across the United States for both first-year admission and transfer students. It is frequently used by students applying to colleges because of the high number of schools that accept the application, including privates, publics, and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The Common Application also allows students to track many components of their applications including recommendation letters, school forms, and supplemental portions. A separate application, the Common Black College Application, allows individuals to apply to any number of their HBCU member institutions with only one application fee.   

Students who demonstrate the need for tuition assistance are often able to receive funds to help them pay for college. These funds can come from a variety of sources, including state and federal governments, colleges and universities, and private organizations. Undocumented students are not eligible for federal financial aid but can access state financial aid in some states. You can find out if undocumented students qualify for state financial aid by visiting the University Leaders for Educational Access and Diversity (uLEAD) Network . Students can often also get financial aid directly from their college or university, particularly if they are attending a private institution. In order to determine the amount of aid they will provide, colleges may ask students to fill out financial aid forms such as College Scholarship Service (CSS) Profile . Some schools may even ask undocumented students to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) even if they are not eligible for federal aid. (Read more on FAFSA below.) Certain states that have passed laws extending state-based financial aid to undocumented students also have their own aid forms, like Texas and California . Private scholarships or other aid that is not controlled by a college, university, or government entity can be need-based or merit-based. 

Because they are owned by private, profit-motivated businesses, for-profit colleges and universities can be controversial and are often the subject of criticism. In particular, for-profit colleges have come under fire for using deceptive and predatory marketing that is frequently aimed at first-generation and low-income students. In addition, not all for-profit schools are accredited, meaning that they may not meet the minimum quality standards expected of a higher education institution. If you are considering a for-profit college or university, it’s critical that you closely research the institutions you are considering and make an informed decision about enrolling in a for-profit school. See The Best Schools’ Guide to For-Profit Colleges: What You Need to Know to learn more.

In order for eligible students to access federal financial aid, they must fill out the FAFSA form. No undocumented students, regardless of whether they have DACA, are eligible for federal financial aid. However, despite the ineligibility to access federal aid, DACA recipients can fill out and submit the FAFSA because they possess a social security number. Sometimes, colleges and universities may ask students, regardless of their eligibility for federal funds, to fill out the FAFSA form so that the institution can determine how much aid to give you. FAFSA is only one way that some institutions determine need-based financial aid. You should check with your college’s financial aid office to determine if filling out FAFSA is the right process for DACA recipients at that institution. Undocumented students cannot submit the FAFSA form . You should never lie about your immigration status or use false information when filling out college admissions or federal government paperwork, including the FAFSA form. The U.S. Department of Education acknowledges that “most states and colleges use information collected on the FAFSA form to determine whether you’re eligible for aid. However, we first recommend that you check with your high school counselor or your college or career school’s financial aid office to see what types of financial aid you may be eligible to receive and whether completing the FAFSA form is the way to apply for that aid.” You can read more guidance from the U.S. Department of Education on FAFSA here . For those colleges that do ask you to fill out the FAFSA form, some may allow you to print the FAFSA form, fill it out, and submit it directly to the institution for them to assess your need for financial aid. This bypasses the need to submit your information via the FAFSA form to the federal government since undocumented students are not eligible for federal aid anyways and may provide a way for undocumented students without DACA to still be assessed for and receive financial aid through their college or university.  

An ITIN is a tax processing number issued by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to certain immigrants who cannot get a social security number and have a tax filing requirement. The ITIN allows individuals to comply with federal tax laws, open a bank account, and build credit. When you are applying to college, institutions may use your or a parent’s ITIN to verify your family’s income in order to decide what financial aid to give you. Learn more about the ITIN from the National Immigration Law Center . 

Public colleges and universities often charge lower tuition rates for applicants who are considered residents of the state in which the school is located. There are usually some requirements that students have to meet to establish in-state residency. These requirements vary greatly from state to state, but often include having a physical presence in the state for a certain duration of time (frequently one year). Undocumented students are sometimes eligible for in-state tuition but may have to meet certain requirements, including having attended some years of high school in the state. You can find out if undocumented students qualify for in-state tuition by visiting the Higher Ed Immigration Portal .

In the United States, private institutions of higher education operate independently from state or federal government agencies. Tuition at private colleges and universities is often more expensive than tuition at public universities. However, due to the fact that private colleges are primarily funded by non-government dollars, it is sometimes easier for undocumented students to obtain need-based financial aid that lowers their tuition rate.

In the United States, public institutions of higher education are owned and operated by the state in which they are located and almost always receive significant funding from the state and federal governments. Tuition at public colleges and universities is often less expensive than tuition at private colleges. However, undocumented students sometimes do not have the same access to financial aid or tuition rates that citizen students do. This inequity exists both because some schools do not consider undocumented students to be domestic applicants or in-state residents and because much of public institutions’ financial aid comes from government funding, which is prohibited from being granted to undocumented individuals. 

The Sanctuary Campus Movement emerged in November 2016 after the election of President Donald Trump. Due to Trump’s attacks on immigrants through his candidacy and proposed plans to end DACA and increase immigration enforcement in the United States, students feared for the safety of undocumented students on campus and push their schools to adopt “sanctuary policies.” Sanctuary policies can include not allowing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers on campus without a warrant, ensuring campus police will not engage in any immigration enforcement actions, not sharing students’ immigration statuses with ICE, providing tuition support for undocumented students, providing legal support for undocumented students, and more. It is important to note that the label of a “sanctuary campus” can be largely symbolic and varies in its meaning. While some colleges and universities have self-identified as sanctuary campuses, that does not necessarily mean that they have implemented any policies to support undocumented students on their campus. In addition, there are other colleges and universities that are not labeled as sanctuary campuses but have implemented substantial policies to support and protect undocumented students on campus.

A transfer student may refer to a student newly enrolling at a college or university after finishing their time at a community college or after leaving an institution that was not a good fit for them. For students coming from community college, transferring may be their next step to continue their education and earn their bachelor’s degree. Other students may have initially matriculated at a school that turns out, for a variety of reasons, not to be a good fit for them, and have decided to transfer to a new institution. The choice to transfer is a serious one and should be well-researched. Transfer students typically have to apply or reapply to new schools so their transfer will be accepted, a process which may have fees associated with it. In addition, students should be aware that there are some cases in which their credits may not transfer to their new school. As long as a student is making the right decision, there is no shame about transferring!

Understanding Higher Education Access for Undocumented Students in Your State

There is no federal law against U.S. colleges and universities accepting undocumented students . Higher education access is determined at the institutional and state levels, meaning each state has different laws and policies in place that determine if and how undocumented students are able to access in-state tuition, if they qualify for state financial aid, and, in very few cases, whether they may even be admitted to the state’s public universities. 

The best way to find out about your state’s higher education policies for undocumented students is by visiting the Higher Ed Immigration Portal. The interactive map on the Higher Ed Immigration Portal contains up-to-date information on each state’s higher education accessibility, in-state tuition, and state financial aid for undocumented students.

Resources for High School Students Preparing for College or Trade School

Through the resources and guidance in this section, we aim to empower you to choose the vocational school, college, or university that’s right for you. 

When it comes to higher education, your college career is flexible. Some students enter trade school knowing what trade they want to work in. Others get their associate degree from community college and then enter the workforce or transfer to a four-year university to complete their bachelor’s degree. Others might even enroll at a four-year university and take time off in between semesters to work or take care of their families. You will find the path that is right for you.

Find allies!

We encourage you to seek out allies who can support you through this college application process. Your allies could be guidance counselors, teachers, community leaders, local non-profit organizations, religious institutions, or even friends. Some undocumented students have also found allies online in places like Facebook groups, Reddit chats, or Discord servers.

Trade School, Community College, or a Four-Year University?

Whether you decide on trade school, community college, or four-year university, you will have to choose what you are going to study, or major in. Your choice in what you study may be directly tied to the industry in which you plan to work. If you are undocumented, with or without DACA, you should be aware that some states have legislation that restricts whether undocumented folks can work in certain industries. Most of these restrictions involve the need for professional occupational licenses. 

Professional occupational licenses authorize individuals to practice certain professions like teaching, nursing, cosmetology, plumbing, and many more. While state governments regulate the requirements needed to qualify through their state licensing boards, federal law does not allow undocumented immigrants to access professional licenses – unless a state overrides the restriction. Many states have adjusted their licensing requirements to allow DACA recipients to obtain professional licenses, increasing the number of technical practitioners in their states. Others, like California, Illinois, Nevada, New Mexico, and New Jersey have removed citizenship requirements altogether . People who have been incarcerated are often similarly restricted from working in certain professions because they are prohibited from accessing professional licenses. 

Unfortunately, many undocumented folks find out that they will not be able to access the necessary professional license to work in a certain industry after they have already completed their schooling. As you are deciding on your course of study, consider what your career options will be after you graduate and whether you will need a professional license to work in your industry. Research whether or not professional licenses are accessible to undocumented professionals in your state . In many cases, there may not be an official policy regarding licensing and undocumented professionals. Some applications and licensing boards may be silent on the matter, which may allow you to obtain such licensing as long as you provide all the required information and materials. 

If you choose to embark on obtaining your bachelor’s degree, whether starting at a community college or a four-year university, you should know that the idea that it takes four years to complete a bachelor’s degree is a myth. The new reality is that a vast majority of students do not end up graduating in the traditional four-year window. At most public universities, only 19% of full-time students earn a bachelor’s degree in four years. Even at selective, research-intensive institutions, only 36% of full-time students complete their bachelor’s degree in four years . Many students take their time to finish their education at a pace that financially and personally makes sense for them. Education is not a race! If it takes longer than the traditional four years to graduate, it does not mean that it will set you back in your career. Take higher education at your own pace. 

Vocational and Trade Schools

A vocational or trade school may be its own institution or it may be part of a community college or four-year university. Vocational and trade schools are appealing because they have the ability to fast track individuals directly into their careers. Most vocational programs only take two years, and sometimes, they can even take the place of the last two years of high school. Furthermore, a strength of vocational and trade programs lies in the connections they are able to make for students with jobs in skilled trades.

Another perk of vocational programs is that they are more affordable than obtaining a bachelor’s degree. Something that may be especially attractive to undocumented individuals is that vocational and trade schools can also give you the skills you need to start your own business. Learn more about what it takes to start your own business in Working and Earning An Income While Undocumented .  

Note: Vocational and trade schools are different from “career colleges.” While vocational and trade schools are generally run by state and federal government entities, career colleges are most frequently private and for-profit institutions with less oversight about the quality and accreditation of their programs. Learn more from Online College Plan .   

Community Colleges

Community colleges, also called two-year colleges, are a great avenue to higher education for students who need a more flexible class schedule, are working their way through college, need to stay close to home and support their families, or are worried about the cost of higher education. For these reasons and many more, community colleges have historically been the most accessible path to higher education for undocumented students, and as a result, are often more familiar with the unique needs and challenges that undocumented students face. Due to their flexibility, community colleges are also often the choice of schools for “non-traditional” students. Being a “non-traditional” student might mean that you are working full time while in college, you have a spouse or children, or you are embarking on your college career in your mid-20s or beyond. Read more about what type of educational experience to look for as a non-traditional student here . 

Some advantages to attending a community college: 

The cost of tuition at a community college is considerably less than tuition at a four-year university. Not only will students be able to earn their associates for a much more affordable price, but if they decide to transfer to a four-year school, they will have saved money by attending two years of community college.

Students often have the option to attend school on a full-time or part-time basis, and community colleges frequently offer evening and night time classes that accommodate busy students with jobs, families, and other responsibilities.

Community colleges frequently have smaller class sizes that allow students to build stronger relationships with professors and get one-on-one support.

When you start earning your associate degree at a community college, that does not mean you have to stop there. Many students go on to transfer to a four-year college and earn their bachelor’s degree as well. In some states, when you finish your associate degree at a public community college, you are automatically accepted to any of the state’s public universities. If moving on to another university after community college is the right choice for you, being able to transfer easily to a state university can save you the stress and worry about credit transfers and what school you will be attending in the future. Make sure you check with the public universities in your state to learn more about how to apply as a transfer student from a community college. There are some four-year institutions that have guaranteed transfer programs for community college students. You can learn more about those programs here . 

Many community colleges also have programs in place that allow students to earn additional certificates in trades and industries along with their associate degree. By obtaining a certification while you are in community college, you may be able to enter the workforce while you continue your schooling. If you are undocumented, remember that some trades and industries require professional licenses that are not accessible to undocumented individuals in some states.

Four-Year Colleges and Universities  

Some advantages of four-year colleges and universities are that they offer a greater number of degree programs, a huge variety of classes, and more extracurricular activities for students. Four-year institutions may be the right choice for students who need to or want to get their education away from home, aim to pursue a niche degree or career, or are looking for an on-campus university experience. 

There is a huge variety of four-year colleges and universities out there for students to choose from including public universities, private colleges, commuter schools, art schools, research universities, liberal arts colleges, and more. With this breadth of options, you will be able to choose which four-year school is right for you. 

Many would consider the biggest drawback to attending a four-year college or university to be the cost of tuition. Tuition rates vary across four-year institutions. You can read more about this below. 

Tuition at public colleges and universities is often less expensive than tuition at private colleges. However, undocumented students sometimes do not have the same access to financial aid or tuition rates that citizen students do. This inequity exists both because some schools do not consider undocumented students to be domestic applicants or in-state residents and because much of public institutions’ financial aid comes from government funding, which is prohibited from being granted to undocumented individuals.  

Tuition at private colleges and universities is often more expensive than tuition at public universities. However, due to the fact that private colleges are primarily funded by non-government aid, it is sometimes easier for undocumented students to obtain need-based financial aid that lowers their tuition rate.

We’ll address more about paying for college in the How to Pay for College section.      

Online Education

The mission of many online universities is to increase access to higher education, especially for underrepresented students. Online education can be a great option for higher education because it is flexible and can allow students to work while in school. If you are looking for an online university, be sure to look for institutions that are accredited and not for profit . 

Note: For-profit colleges and universities are owned by private, profit-driven businesses, and as a result have been the subject of criticism and controversy. In particular, for-profit colleges have come under fire for using deceptive and predatory marketing that is frequently aimed at first-generation and low-income students. In addition, not all for-profit schools are accredited, meaning that they may not meet the minimum quality standards expected of a higher education institution. Students who attend non-accredited institutions might not be considered qualified in their field upon graduation and may not have the same career opportunities available to them as students graduating from accredited institutions would have. 

• Your College Choice: How to See If a School Is Legit by NerdWallet
• Guide to For-Profit Colleges: What You Need to Know by The Best Schools
• The Real Cost of For-Profit Colleges by U.S. News and World Report
• List of Accredited Online Colleges by U.S. News and World Report 

Starting Your College Search

Students consider a lot of factors when they embark on their college search including location, tuition cost, available academic programs, extracurriculars, and classroom size. Undocumented students likely have additional concerns about where they will attend college including their ability to access financial aid, staff or resource centers dedicated to supporting undocumented students, or legal support that can help them navigate their immigration status.

For some examples about programs that universities offer for undocumented students and what you should look for as a prospective student, check out “A Guide to College for Undocumented Students” by Study.com . This resource addresses:

• Multicultural and Dream Centers
• Minority Serving Institutions (MSI) including Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI) and Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISI)
• Expectations for English Language Learner (ELL) students applying to college

The best way to find out if your prospective institution has the programs you are looking for and supports undocumented students is to call them on the phone! Colleges and universities should be striving to figure out how to best support all their students, including undocumented students. We know it can be challenging to talk publicly and to strangers about your undocumented status, you should be able to get many of your questions answered while remaining anonymous when you call colleges and universities as a prospective student. 

This is also where your allies come in! If you don’t feel comfortable calling prospective institutions or are worried about revealing your immigration status over the phone, you can ask your guidance counselor or another trusted individual to make these calls on your behalf. 

We encourage you to contact the following three offices to learn about what your prospective institution has to offer undocumented students. 

NOTE: Some schools consider undocumented students as international students when they apply. If you are considered an international student, tuition may be higher, you may be competing for more limited financial aid dollars, your application may be evaluated differently, and you may have to prove how you will be paying for your tuition. When you contact your prospective colleges and universities, you should ask if they consider undocumented students as domestic or international applicants and how that might impact your admission and tuition.  

Ask the Admissions Office how your immigration status will affect the application process. Some schools will treat undocumented students as domestic applicants, where they can be considered for institutional financial aid, depending on the state and the school’s policy. Admissions counselors will also be able to give you a list of what you need to provide for your application. 

The Financial Aid Office will be able to guide you through how much it will cost to attend the institution and what institutional aid or scholarships are available to you as an undocumented student. Since choosing a college that is a good fit for you can largely depend on the cost of attending, talking to the financial aid office will help you understand if an institution is affordable to you. As a reminder, if you are looking into a public university, uLEAD can help you identify if you will be able to access in-state tuition.

A school’s Undocumented Student Center or “Dream Center” will be able to share information about the community and support systems that exist for undocumented students on campus. If your prospective institution does not have an Undocumented Student Center, we suggest contacting the Multicultural Student Center to see if they offer any support for undocumented students. Multicultural Centers should also be able to tell you if there are undocumented student clubs or organizations that you can join. 

Some colleges and universities also have webpages dedicated to campus resources that exist for undocumented students. If this page exists for your prospective institution, it may include points of contact for on-campus offices that address advising, financial aid, mental health, and other needs. 

Not all colleges and universities are undocumented student-friendly. Though transferring to a new school might be an option in the future, you are choosing a school where you will spend much, if not all, your time for the next two or four years. Doing all the research you can to make sure you will be comfortable and supported as an undocumented student on-campus is hugely important. You may find that some schools are not financially or emotionally supportive of their undocumented student body. You will have to determine whether or not that is important to you as a prospective student.

Now that you know what is important to consider as an undocumented student, tools like College Board can help you identify colleges and universities that might be a good fit for you. 

For more information about the logistics of applying to college including filling out the Common Application, writing essays, collecting letters of recommendation, meeting deadlines, and more, check out “A Complete Guide to the College Application Process” by U.S. News . 

NOTE: There is frequently a fee required to apply to colleges and universities, but fee waivers are commonly available. Most schools understand that fees make applying to college unattainable for some students. There are a variety of ways you can get a fee waiver, including contacting the college or university directly or talking to your guidance counselor. To learn more about college application fees and how to get a waiver read, “How to Apply to College for Free” by U.S. News . 

• Educational Resource Binder: College Access for Undocumented Students in California by Immigrants’ Rising
• Resources for applying to College in New Jersey, Illinois, Texas, and New York by ImmSchools.
• Applying to College During Covid: What Parents and Students Should Know from the Wall Street Journal
• Applying to College During the Pandemic? Here is some advice from admissions officers from the New York Times

How to Pay for College

Tuition rates vary from school to school depending on the type of institution. As a reminder, tuition at public colleges and universities, including community colleges , is often less expensive than tuition at private colleges. To find out whether undocumented students can access in-state tuition rates at public universities in their home state, visit the Higher Ed Immigration Portal website .

While tuition at private colleges and universities is often more expensive than tuition at public universities, undocumented students may be able to obtain need-based financial aid that significantly lowers their tuition rate. Keep in mind that many undergraduate and graduate institutions may offer significant institutional aid (i.e., financial aid directly from the institution), particularly for those candidates with mid to high standardized test scores. Thus, studying for the required standardized test (whether self-study or through a course) and applying as a competitive candidate is often the first step to ensuring you maximize the amount of aid you obtain from an institution.

NOTE: During the COVID-19 pandemic, many colleges and universities have made standardized tests an optional part of their application processes so that students do not have to risk their health or the health of others to take these tests.

Options to Pay for Higher Education 

Scholarships

A barrier that undocumented students frequently face when applying to scholarships is that many scholarships require that the recipient be a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident. Below is a curated list of resources that identify scholarships that are available to undocumented students. 

• Undergraduate Scholarships  
• Graduate Scholarships
• Undergraduate Fellowships
• Graduate Fellowships 
• Building Your Scholarship Essay
• TheDream.us Scholarships
• Dreamers Roadmap  
• Scholarships A-Z
• My Undocumented Life

NOTE: Depending on the formula that your college uses to determine need-based financial aid, private scholarships that you earn may reduce the amount of aid you are eligible to receive from your institution. This does not necessarily mean that you will have to pay more tuition. Rather, your scholarship dollars might replace your financial aid package dollars or reduce the amount of your loan. If you have questions about how scholarships are considered in your financial aid package, you should ask your college or university’s financial aid office. Read more from The College Board .   

Although undocumented students are not able to access student loans from the federal government, they can often access private or personal loans from banks, credit unions, and other sources. While certain private loans are available to undocumented folks, the bank or organization making the loan will most likely require a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident with good credit to co-sign the loan.  

When you take out a loan you will have to repay it with interest, often within a set time-frame. If you decide that a loan is a good option for you, make sure you pay close attention to the terms and conditions, whether the interest rate is feasible for you, and what your repayment plan options are. Having some credit history and a good credit score may help you secure lower interest rates on your loan. Repaying your student loans on time can also help you build a good credit score. Learn more about credit, financial capital, and banking in the section, Working and Earning and Income While Undocumented .

When you are considering a loan, be aware of companies that offer “predatory loans.” Predatory loans are ones in which the terms and conditions of the loan are unfair to the borrower and can be hard to repay. Some key warning signs of predatory lending include:

• 3-digit interest rates
• Exceptionally high interest rates or additional fees for individuals with low or no credit scores
• Penalties or fees for paying your loan off early
• Added services and costs that are not part of the loan
• Loan flipping, or encouraging you to refinance an existing loan into a larger one with a higher interest rate and additional fees
• Being rushed into signing paperwork
• Lying to you or asking you to lie or falsify information

Learn more about predatory lending from Student Loan Hero and Debt.org .

If you decided a loan is the right option for you, here are some banks and organizations that provide private student loans to undocumented students: 

• Requires a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident co-signer
• Requires U.S. citizen co-signer
• Does not require a co-signer or credit history
• Does not require a co-signer

Disclaimer: Informed Immigrant does not in any way endorse the lenders listed here, but is providing this list as a starting point for individuals to further their own research.

Community Support

While often informal, students are sometimes able to get financial support to attend college from their communities, particularly religious communities. If you are active in a church, temple, or mosque, you might consider inquiring to see if your community provides scholarships or other help to students in paying for college.

On-Campus Fellowships and Funding

Even though undocumented students cannot legally work (unless they have DACA), there are opportunities that colleges and universities can create to provide non-employment based funding and fellowships to undocumented students. Your school may have non-employment based experiential, education, or training fellowships that provide stipends to participants regardless of immigration status. Colleges and universities can learn more about funding opportunities for undocumented students from the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education & Immigration and Immigrants’ Rising . At minimum, some campus organizations or institutions may be able to find ways to support undocumented students for their involvement with gift cards for food, school supplies, and other necessities.

Resources for Undocumented College Students

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Undocumented Students in High School: Supporting Access to Higher Education

July 14, 2023

Undocumented students face additional barriers and challenges. Around 100,000 undocumented students graduate from high school each year in the United States. Many of these students consider enrolling in an institution of higher education. Unfortunately, due to legal, financial, and social obstacles, this process is complicated . Undocumented students may face additional barriers compared to other students due to restrictive state and federal policies  and a lack of support resources. In addition,  the rate of high school graduation for undocumented students trends lower than the na tional average . High school is a pivotal step towards adulthood, especially for those entering higher education. This is why it is imperative to remove barriers and pr ovide p rotection and ad ditional s upport for undocumented students in high school who want to pursue higher education .  

As decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in Plyler v. Doe , students are e nsured a K-12 public education irrespective of immigration status . However, the case d id not extend protections to higher education. This leaves undocumented students vulnerable as many states have restrictions that make it more difficult for these first-generation college students to access higher education.   

The U.S. is home to a patchwork of state policies related to undocumented students’ access to in-state tuition at public colleges and universities. Undocumented students can access in-state tuition in 23 states and D.C. Of those states, 17 states and D.C. also provide access to state aid, including grants and public loans. However, some states, like Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina, bar undocumented students from enrolling in at least some public colleges and universities. Five additional states (Missouri, New Hampshire, North Carolina Tennessee, and Wisconsin) allow their undocumented students to enroll in public colleges and universities but require that they pay out of state tuition.  

Because the college process starts early, it is important that undocumented students have access to crucial information and support services in high school. This includes help for undocumented students during the high school years on how to apply, enroll, and find financial support for higher education. The ability to reach a higher level of education is important because it is linked to better economic outcomes. In addition, in many legislative bills like the Dream Act, higher education is recognized as a key way to qualify for permanent legal status.   

High school counselors can play an important role in helping undocumented students in high school learn more about their higher education options. However, counselors may not always be familiar with immigration-related issues, including whether their state offers access to in-state tuition. At my public high school specifically, school counselors did not receive immigration-specific training or literature on the matter. Thankfully, some counselors have personal or professional experiences that make them more knowledgeable on how to best help undocumented high school students enter higher education.  

Counselors should be able to provide undocumented students with key information, including whether undocumented students qualify for in-state tuition, what type of financial aid or scholarships they are eligible for, and what colleges and universities have immigrant-friendly policies. In Maryland, for example, undocumented students who graduate from a Maryland high school and meet other criteria can qualify for Maryland State Financial Aid Application (MSFAA) and access in-state tuition. School counselors play an important role because they can connect students with this information. This is particularly important, because in-state tuition is nearly three times cheaper than the alternative.  

Steps must be taken to ensure that undocumented high school students gain access to the necessary support and resources. High school is a pivotal time for decisions related to college. But for undocumented students in high school, many barriers exist making higher education seem out of reach. Which is why high school counselors and school districts must be better informed on immigration related issues, and states and the federal government must eliminate discriminatory legislation in this regard.  

There are several solutions that can help undocumented students in high school be better aware about how to access higher education. These include more resources specifically for undocumented students and more broad immigration reforms.   

Resources . First, providing resources is key to helping first generation college applicants, including undocumented students. Counselors need to be equipped to properly understand the challenges that immigrant families face and the resources at their disposal, including their state policies related to in-state tuition access. Counselors must also aim to be better informed about financial aid options, including state aid and/or private scholarships and support. Research on this topic is limited and this paucity of literature suggests that high school counselors have limited information to guide them in addressing the needs of undocumented immigrant children. ( Vistas 2016 )  

Change State and Federal Polices. Second, due to state and federal legislation, many students are already facing immigration-related barriers to higher education starting in high school. Some of these laws include the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA; 1996) and the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA; 1996). These laws constrain undocumented immigrant families. Specifically, they bar access to federal financial aid for undocumented students. No state or federal law should serve as a barrier to education and prevent people from reaching their full potential, which is why Congress should pass legislation to provide permanent legal status to undocumented students, such as the Dream Act. States should pass laws to expand access to in-state tuition and state aid to the state’s undocumented students.  

As someone currently experiencing the trials and tribulations of college applications, many of my experiences have revealed that the process is complicated. Many people have access to ACT/SAT prep help, college essay coaches, and parental connections to university institutions. But undocumented students may not have access to these support services or familial connections. Furthermore, there are policies in some states making higher education further out of reach. For such an important issue, change must be made in the form of better-informed school counselors and more widely available resources, and fundamental reform to the immigration process.   

The National Immigration Forum would like to thank Emily Dean, Policy and Advocacy Intern, for developing this blogpost. Emily is a rising high school senior in the DC metro area.   

Related Topics

Explainer: The Biden Administration’s Announcement to Protect American Families  

D-3 Waivers for the Three- and Ten-Year Bars of Dreamers

Press Release

Actions to Protect Citizens' Spouses and Dreamers Would Keep Families Together

Common App Essay on Illegal Immigration?

<p>Hi guys, I was wondering if it would be okay for me to write about being an undocumented immigrant on my common app essay (the “describe a national/international issue of importance to you” one). I moved here with parents at age 2. Most of the schools I’m applying to are pretty liberal (Oberlin, Dartmouth, Amherst, UChicago, Cornell, Wesleyan, William and Mary, Bryn Mawr), but I’m concerned that it would be too political/controversial an issue. </p>

<p>However, it is probably the MOST important issue in my life right now and I feel that I could write intelligently about it. I would talk about the DREAM Act as well as how being an immigrant in general has really impacted my life, values, goals, etc. I know that a lot of these schools use a holistic approach, and I was wondering if this would severely cripple my chances of getting accepted anywhere, despite OK stats.</p>

<p>For the record, Bryn Mawr, UChicago and (I think) Oberlin openly admit to accepting undocumented students, Dartmouth and Amherst are “need blind” to internationals (which is what I would be considered there), and Cornell would count me in the context of my HS, not as a traditional international student. Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated, and I’m sorry this is so long. </p>

<p>Here are my stats in case you want some context: SAT: 740 CR 710 M 800 W (2250) AP: World Hist - 5, Psych - 5, US History - 5, Eng Lit - 4 Pending/Current (all APs): Calc, Spanish, Environmental Science, American Gov, English GPA: 4.19 W 3.97 UW Rank: Top 2% 14/600 State: VA Ethnicity: African-American</p>

<p>ECs: school awards and a couple of national awards (for academics, like being recognized for the National Achievement Scholarship-PSAT), AP Scholar w/Distinction I’m in a few of the National Honor Societies, Model UN, school newspaper, volunteered with health department, etc. and a couple more clubs, president of 1</p>

<p>Thanks in advance and I’ll answer your thread if you leave a link!</p>

<p>Go for it.</p>

<p>This is your story. It is perfectly OK to tell it.</p>

<p>Dreaming with you!</p>

<p>Thanks! I was just wondering if there’s a chance that the personal prejudice of the person reading my essay could affect my chances… My other option would be to just write about my being an immigrant in general, although wouldn’t they know that I’m undocumented since I have to check “not a US Citizen or Permanent Resident” on the Common App?</p>

<p>Go for it. Those schools’ adcomms are unlikely to be hardline anti-immigrant folks, and you can probably tell this story with passion that will come through.</p>

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How DACA Students Can Apply to College

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Undocumented students face many hurdles on the way to a college education. But getting a degree is far from impossible.

How being undocumented affects college attendance

There’s no federal law barring undocumented students from attending college, although two states — South Carolina and Alabama — prohibit undocumented applicants from attending public colleges.

Many undocumented students can get a degree through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA. It’s an Obama-era initiative that protects undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as minors from being deported. The status, renewable every two years, allows these immigrants to legally work and attend college in the United States. Almost 650,000 undocumented immigrants held DACA status as of March 2020, according to data from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

But undocumented students can't get federal financial aid like U.S. citizens do. Twenty states allow undocumented students to pay in-state tuition, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Six states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Indiana, Missouri and South Carolina — have laws prohibiting undocumented students from qualifying for in-state tuition. In all other states, admission and in-state vs. out-of-state charges are left to the discretion of colleges and universities.

» MORE: International Student Loans: Compare Options for 2020

In September 2017, the Trump administration announced plans to phase out DACA, and new applications are no longer being accepted. A court order in January 2018 partially blocking the phaseout means the future of DACA will play out in court and in Congress. Throughout 2018, three federal appeals courts — in California, New York and Washington, D.C. — upheld the lower court's order.

In the meantime, DACA recipients — known as Dreamers — can still apply to and pay for college. Here are 10 tips for how to do it.

How Dreamers can apply to college

1. contact potential colleges’ centers for undocumented students.

“Although not on every campus, these centers can provide information on applying to the university and help answer questions about things like financial aid for undocumented students,” says Andrea Gaytan, director of the AB540 and Undocumented Student Center at the University of California, Davis. “More than that, they can continue to be a resource and community while you’re in school,” she adds.

2. ASK ADMISSIONS OFFICES HOW YOUR STATUS WILL AFFECT THE APPLICATION PROCESS

“Some schools will treat undocumented students like domestic applicants, meaning they’ll consider them with the same financial aid policies as they do for U.S. citizens,” says Joel Hart, associate dean of admissions at Pomona College in Claremont, California. “Most schools, however, will treat undocumented students as international students, meaning they’ll be competing for more limited financial aid dollars,” he says. Students should contact every school on their list to learn how their application will be treated.

3. CONSIDER THE CAMPUS AND ITS SURROUNDING COMMUNITY

“It will be important to feel comfortable and safe not only on campus, but also in the outlying town or city you will be living in throughout your college career. Think about what the community has to offer in terms of a positive social climate and services for undocumented people,” Gaytan advises.

4. WORK WITH COLLEGE ACCESS PROGRAMS WHILE IN HIGH SCHOOL

These programs hold informational meetings and often offer test prep courses, says Rebecca Merrick, an international student advisor at Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville. To find a college access program in your area, ask a teacher or local college, or try your nearest YMCA chapter.

5. EMBRACE YOUR IDENTITY

Fear often plays a large part in the college application process for undocumented students, as many are reluctant to reveal their immigration status in case of potential repercussions.

“Don’t be afraid to embrace your identity as an undocumented student when appropriate,” Hart says. “Sometimes that identity arises from a powerfully compelling story that only you can tell about yourself, like in an essay.”

How Dreamers can pay for college

6. look for private scholarships while in high school.

The ideal time to start looking for scholarships is early in your senior year of high school, or in the year prior to attending college. “For undocumented students, private scholarships can offer important coverage for discretionary costs like meals, housing, transportation and books in addition to covering your tuition,” says Gaytan of UC Davis. “Take a look at civic organizations in your hometown, as well as your prospective college campus, for available scholarships.”

» MORE : How to get a scholarship

7. ASK COLLEGES IF YOU QUALIFY FOR INSTITUTIONAL AID

Though undocumented students cannot receive federal financial aid, they can receive institutional aid, and in a few cases they can receive financial aid from their state. “The student will need to check with their admissions counselor and/or financial aid counselor for the policies of the college or university that they are interested in, because each institution is different,” says Stephanie Tolbert, senior vice president for enrollment at Louisburg College in Louisburg, North Carolina.

8. ASK IF THE COLLEGE WAIVES APPLICATION FEES DUE TO FINANCIAL NEED

“Many colleges have a policy like this, even if they don’t necessarily advertise it,” says Hart from Pomona. “Don’t assume that every school will be unwilling to provide financial assistance.”

How Dreamers can stay informed

9. follow policy changes.

“Gain an understanding of the landscape,” says Melissa Quan, associate director of Fairfield University’s Center for Faith and Public Life in Connecticut. Laws aimed at undocumented immigrants are constantly changing, so staying in the know will inform your decisions about college and beyond. If you’re unsure whether you qualify for admission, financial aid or anything else, be sure to ask and double-check any answers you receive.

10. COMPLETE THE FAFSA

Before you fill out the FAFSA , contact your school's financial aid office and explain your situation. Completing the form may help you organize documents that help you qualify for in-state tuition or apply for scholarships or institutional grants .

“Many undocumented students assume — and perhaps are even advised — that because they are not eligible for federal financial aid, they cannot, or should not, complete the FASFA form,” Quan says. “However, this is not true in all cases. For students with DACA status, completing the FAFSA form or the CSS profile can help them gather the information needed to apply for other forms of financial aid for which they are eligible.”

On a similar note...

8 Brilliant Student Essays on Immigration and Unjust Assumptions

For the winter 2019 student writing competition, “Border (In)Security,” we invited students to read the YES! Magazine article “Two-Thirds of Americans Live in the “Constitution-Free Zone” by Lornet Turnbull and respond with an up-to-700-word essay. 

Students had a choice between two writing prompts for this contest on immigration policies at the border and in the “Constitution-free zone,” a 100-mile perimeter from land and sea borders where U.S. Border Patrol can search any vehicle, bus, or vessel without a warrant. They could state their positions on the impact of immigration policies on our country’s security and how we determine who is welcome to live here. Or they could write about a time when someone made an unfair assumption about them, just as Border Patrol agents have made warrantless searches of Greyhound passengers based simply on race and clothing.

The Winners

From the hundreds of essays written, these eight were chosen as winners. Be sure to read the author’s response to the essay winners and the literary gems that caught our eye.

Middle School Winner

Alessandra Serafini

Brier Terrace Middle School, Brier, Wash.

Broken Promises

“...Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

These words were written by Emma Lazarus and are inscribed on the base of the Statue of Liberty. And yet, the very door they talk about is no longer available to those who need it the most. The door has been shut, chained, and guarded. It no longer shines like gold. Those seeking asylum are being turned away. Families are being split up; children are being stranded. The promise America made to those in need is broken.

Not only is the promise to asylum seekers broken, but the promises made to some 200 million people already residing within the U.S. are broken, too. Anyone within 100 miles of the United States border lives in the “Constitution-free zone” and can be searched with “reasonable suspicion,” a suspicion that is determined by Border Patrol officers. The zone encompasses major cities, such as Seattle and New York City, and it even covers entire states, such as Florida, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. I live in the Seattle area, and it is unsettling that I can be searched and interrogated without the usual warrant. In these areas, there has been an abuse of power; people have been unlawfully searched and interrogated because of assumed race or religion.

The ACLU obtained data from the Customs and Border Protection Agency that demonstrate this reprehensible profiling. The data found that “82 percent of foreign citizens stopped by agents in that state are Latino, and almost 1 in 3 of those processed are, in fact, U.S. citizens.” These warrantless searches impede the trust-building process and communication between the local population and law enforcement officers. Unfortunately, this lack of trust makes campaigns, such as Homeland Security’s “If You See Something, Say Something,” ineffective due to the actions of the department’s own members and officers. Worst of all, profiling ostracizes entire communities and makes them feel unsafe in their own country.

Ironically, asylum seekers come to America in search of safety. However, the thin veil of safety has been drawn back, and, behind it, our tarnished colors are visible. We need to welcome people in their darkest hours rather than destroy their last bit of hope by slamming the door in their faces. The immigration process is currently in shambles, and an effective process is essential for both those already in the country and those outside of it. Many asylum seekers are running from war, poverty, hunger, and death. Their countries’ instability has hijacked every aspect of their lives, made them vagabonds, and the possibility of death, a cruel and unforgiving death, is real. They see no future for their children, and they are desperate for the perceived promise of America—a promise of opportunity, freedom, and a safe future. An effective process would determine who actually needs help and then grant them passage into America. Why should everyone be turned away? My grandmother immigrated to America from Scotland in 1955. I exist because she had a chance that others are now being denied.

Emma Lazarus named Lady Liberty the “Mother of Exiles.” Why are we denying her the happiness of children? Because we cannot decide which ones? America has an inexplicable area where our constitution has been spurned and forgotten. Additionally, there is a rancorous movement to close our southern border because of a deep-rooted fear of immigrants and what they represent. For too many Americans, they represent the end of established power and white supremacy, which is their worst nightmare. In fact, immigrants do represent change—healthy change—with new ideas and new energy that will help make this country stronger. Governmental agreement on a humane security plan is critical to ensure that America reaches its full potential. We can help. We can help people in unimaginably terrifying situations, and  that  should be our America.

Alessandra Serafini plays on a national soccer team for Seattle United and is learning American Sign Language outside of school. Her goal is to spread awareness about issues such as climate change, poverty, and large-scale political conflict through writing and public speaking.

 High School Winner

Cain Trevino

Northside High School, Fort Worth, Texas

Xenophobia and the Constitution-Free Zone

In August of 2017, U.S. Border Patrol agents boarded a Greyhound bus that had just arrived at the White River Junction station from Boston. According to Danielle Bonadona, a Lebanon resident and a bus passenger, “They wouldn’t let us get off. They boarded the bus and told us they needed to see our IDs or papers.” Bonadona, a 29-year-old American citizen, said that the agents spent around 20 minutes on the bus and “only checked the IDs of people who had accents or were not white.” Bonadona said she was aware of the 100-mile rule, but the experience of being stopped and searched felt “pretty unconstitutional.”

In the YES! article “Two-Thirds of Americans Live in the ‘Constitution-Free Zone’” by Lornet Turnbull, the author references the ACLU's argument that “the 100-mile zone violates Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure.” However, the Supreme Court upholds the use of immigration checkpoints for inquiries on citizenship status. In my view, the ACLU makes a reasonable argument. The laws of the 100-mile zone are blurred, and, too often, officials give arbitrary reasons to conduct a search. Xenophobia and fear of immigrants burgeons in cities within these areas. People of color and those with accents or who are non-English speakers are profiled by law enforcement agencies that enforce anti-immigrant policies. The “Constitution-free zone” is portrayed as an effective barrier to secure our borders. However, this anti-immigrant zone does not make our country any safer. In fact, it does the opposite.

As a former student from the Houston area, I can tell you that the Constitution-free zone makes immigrants and citizens alike feel on edge. The Department of Homeland Security’s white SUVs patrol our streets. Even students feel the weight of anti-immigrant laws. Dennis Rivera Sarmiento, an undocumented student who attended Austin High School in Houston, was held by school police in February 2018 for a minor altercation and was handed over to county police. He was later picked up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and held in a detention center. It is unfair that kids like Dennis face much harsher consequences for minor incidents than other students with citizenship.

These instances are a direct result of anti-immigrant laws. For example, the 287(g) program gives local and state police the authority to share individuals’ information with ICE after an arrest. This means that immigrants can be deported for committing misdemeanors as minor as running a red light. Other laws like Senate Bill 4, passed by the Texas Legislature, allow police to ask people about their immigration status after they are detained. These policies make immigrants and people of color feel like they’re always under surveillance and that, at any moment, they may be pulled over to be questioned and detained.

During Hurricane Harvey, the immigrant community was hesitant to go to the shelters because images of immigration authorities patrolling the area began to surface online. It made them feel like their own city was against them at a time when they needed them most. Constitution-free zones create communities of fear. For many immigrants, the danger of being questioned about immigration status prevents them from reporting crimes, even when they are the victim. Unreported crime only places more groups of people at risk and, overall, makes communities less safe.

In order to create a humane immigration process, citizens and non-citizens must hold policymakers accountable and get rid of discriminatory laws like 287(g) and Senate Bill 4. Abolishing the Constitution-free zone will also require pressure from the public and many organizations. For a more streamlined legal process, the League of United Latin American Citizens suggests background checks and a small application fee for incoming immigrants, as well as permanent resident status for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) recipients. Other organizations propose expanding the green card lottery and asylum for immigrants escaping the dangers of their home countries.

Immigrants who come to the U.S. are only looking for an opportunity to provide for their families and themselves; so, the question of deciding who gets inside the border and who doesn’t is the same as trying to prove some people are worth more than others. The narratives created by anti-immigrant media plant the false idea that immigrants bring nothing but crime and terrorism. Increased funding for the border and enforcing laws like 287(g) empower anti-immigrant groups to vilify immigrants and promote a witch hunt that targets innocent people. This hatred and xenophobia allow law enforcement to ask any person of color or non-native English speaker about their citizenship or to detain a teenager for a minor incident. Getting rid of the 100-mile zone means standing up for justice and freedom because nobody, regardless of citizenship, should have to live under laws created from fear and hatred.

Cain Trevino is a sophomore. Cain is proud of his Mexican and Salvadorian descent and is an advocate for the implementation of Ethnic Studies in Texas. He enjoys basketball, playing the violin, and studying c omputer science. Cain plans to pursue a career in engineering at Stanford University and later   earn a PhD.  

High School Winner

Ethan Peter

Kirkwood High School, Kirkwood, Mo.

I’m an expert on bussing. For the past couple of months, I’ve been a busser at a pizza restaurant near my house. It may not be the most glamorous job, but it pays all right, and, I’ll admit, I’m in it for the money.

I arrive at 5 p.m. and inspect the restaurant to ensure it is in pristine condition for the 6 p.m. wave of guests. As customers come and go, I pick up their dirty dishes, wash off their tables, and reset them for the next guests. For the first hour of my shift, the work is fairly straightforward.

I met another expert on bussing while crossing the border in a church van two years ago. Our van arrived at the border checkpoint, and an agent stopped us. She read our passports, let us through, and moved on to her next vehicle. The Border Patrol agent’s job seemed fairly straightforward.

At the restaurant, 6 p.m. means a rush of customers. It’s the end of the workday, and these folks are hungry for our pizzas and salads. My job is no longer straightforward.

Throughout the frenzy, the TVs in the restaurant buzz about waves of people coming to the U.S. border. The peaceful ebb and flow enjoyed by Border agents is disrupted by intense surges of immigrants who seek to enter the U.S. Outside forces push immigrants to the United States: wars break out in the Middle East, gangs terrorize parts of Central and South America, and economic downturns force foreigners to look to the U.S., drawn by the promise of opportunity. Refugees and migrant caravans arrive, and suddenly, a Border Patrol agent’s job is no longer straightforward.

I turn from the TVs in anticipation of a crisis exploding inside the restaurant: crowds that arrive together will leave together. I’ve learned that when a table looks finished with their dishes, I need to proactively ask to take those dishes, otherwise, I will fall behind, and the tables won’t be ready for the next customers. The challenge is judging who is finished eating. I’m forced to read clues and use my discretion.

Interpreting clues is part of a Border Patrol agent’s job, too. Lornet Turnbull states, “For example, CBP data obtained by ACLU in Michigan shows that 82 percent of foreign citizens stopped by agents in that state are Latino, and almost 1 in 3 of those processed is, in fact, a U.S. citizen.” While I try to spot customers done with their meals so I can clear their part of the table, the Border Patrol officer uses clues to detect undocumented immigrants. We both sometimes guess incorrectly, but our intentions are to do our jobs to the best of our abilities.

These situations are uncomfortable. I certainly do not enjoy interrupting a conversation to get someone’s dishes, and I doubt Border Patrol agents enjoy interrogating someone about their immigration status. In both situations, the people we mistakenly ask lose time and are subjected to awkward and uncomfortable situations. However, here’s where the busser and the Border Patrol officer’s situations are different: If I make a mistake, the customer faces a minor inconvenience. The stakes for a Border Patrol agent are much higher. Mistakenly asking for documentation and searching someone can lead to embarrassment or fear—it can even be life-changing. Thus, Border Patrol agents must be fairly certain that someone’s immigration status is questionable before they begin their interrogation.

To avoid these situations altogether, the U.S. must make the path to citizenship for immigrants easier. This is particularly true for immigrants fleeing violence. Many people object to this by saying these immigrants will bring violence with them, but data does not support this view. In 1939, a ship of Jewish refugees from Germany was turned away from the U.S.—a decision viewed negatively through the lens of history. Today, many people advocate restricting immigration for refugees from violent countries; they refuse to learn the lessons from 1939. The sad thing is that many of these immigrants are seen as just as violent as the people they are fleeing. We should not confuse the oppressed with the oppressor.

My restaurant appreciates customers because they bring us money, just as we should appreciate immigrants because they bring us unique perspectives. Equally important, immigrants provide this country with a variety of expert ideas and cultures, which builds better human connections and strengthens our society.

Ethan Peter is a junior. Ethan writes for his school newspaper, The Kirkwood Call, and plays volleyball for his high school and a club team. He hopes to continue to grow as a writer in the future. 

University Winner

Daniel Fries

Lane Community College, Eugene, Ore.

Detained on the Road to Equality

The United States is a nation of immigrants. There are currently 43 million foreign-born people living in the U.S. Millions of them are naturalized American citizens, and 23 million, or 7.2 percent of the population, are living here without documentation (US Census, 2016). One in seven residents of the United States was not born here. Multiculturalism is, and always has been, a key part of the American experience. However, romantic notions of finding a better life in the United States for immigrants and refugees don’t reflect reality. In modern history, America is a country that systematically treats immigrants—documented or not—and non-white Americans in a way that is fundamentally different than what is considered right by the majority.

The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment states,“No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” When a suspected undocumented immigrant is detained, their basic human rights are violated. Warrantless raids on Greyhound buses within 100 miles of the border (an area referred to by some as the “Constitution-free zone”) are clear violations of human rights. These violations are not due to the current state of politics; they are the symptom of blatant racism in the United States and a system that denigrates and abuses people least able to defend themselves.

It is not surprising that some of the mechanisms that drive modern American racism are political in nature. Human beings are predisposed to dislike and distrust individuals that do not conform to the norms of their social group (Mountz, Allison). Some politicians appeal to this suspicion and wrongly attribute high crime rates to non-white immigrants. The truth is that immigrants commit fewer crimes than native-born Americans. In fact, people born in the United States are convicted of crimes at a rate twice that of undocumented non-natives (Cato Institute, 2018).

The majority of immigrants take high risks to seek a better life, giving them incentive to obey the laws of their new country. In many states, any contact with law enforcement may ultimately result in deportation and separation from family. While immigrants commit far fewer crimes, fear of violent crime by much of the U.S. population outweighs the truth. For some politicians, it is easier to sell a border wall to a scared population than it is to explain the need for reformed immigration policy. It’s easier to say that immigrants are taking people’s jobs than explain a changing global economy and its effect on employment. The only crime committed in this instance is discrimination.

Human rights are violated when an undocumented immigrant—or someone perceived as an undocumented immigrant—who has not committed a crime is detained on a Greyhound bus. When a United States citizen is detained on the same bus, constitutional rights are being violated. The fact that this happens every day and that we debate its morality makes it abundantly clear that racism is deeply ingrained in this country. Many Americans who have never experienced this type of oppression lack the capacity to understand its lasting effect. Most Americans don’t know what it’s like to be late to work because they were wrongfully detained, were pulled over by the police for the third time that month for no legal reason, or had to coordinate legal representation for their U.S. citizen grandmother because she was taken off a bus for being a suspected undocumented immigrant. This oppression is cruel and unnecessary.

America doesn’t need a wall to keep out undocumented immigrants; it needs to seriously address how to deal with immigration. It is possible to reform the current system in such a way that anyone can become a member of American society, instead of existing outside of it. If a person wants to live in the United States and agrees to follow its laws and pay its taxes, a path to citizenship should be available.

People come to the U.S. from all over the world for many reasons. Some have no other choice. There are ongoing humanitarian crises in Syria, Yemen, and South America that are responsible for the influx of immigrants and asylum seekers at our borders. If the United States wants to address the current situation, it must acknowledge the global factors affecting the immigrants at the center of this debate and make fact-informed decisions. There is a way to maintain the security of America while treating migrants and refugees compassionately, to let those who wish to contribute to our society do so, and to offer a hand up instead of building a wall.  

Daniel Fries studies computer science. Daniel has served as a wildland firefighter in Oregon, California, and Alaska. He is passionate about science, nature, and the ways that technology contributes to making the world a better, more empathetic, and safer place.

Powerful Voice Winner

Emma Hernandez-Sanchez

Wellness, Business and Sports School, Woodburn, Ore.

An Emotion an Immigrant Knows Too Well

Before Donald Trump’s campaign, I was oblivious to my race and the idea of racism. As far as I knew, I was the same as everyone else. I didn’t stop to think about our different-colored skins. I lived in a house with a family and attended school five days a week just like everyone else. So, what made me different?

Seventh grade was a very stressful year—the year that race and racism made an appearance in my life. It was as if a cold splash of water woke me up and finally opened my eyes to what the world was saying. It was this year that Donald Trump started initiating change about who got the right to live in this country and who didn’t. There was a lot of talk about deportation, specifically for Mexicans, and it sparked commotion and fear in me.

I remember being afraid and nervous to go out. At home, the anxiety was there but always at the far back of my mind because I felt safe inside. My fear began as a small whisper, but every time I stepped out of my house, it got louder. I would have dreams about the deportation police coming to my school; when I went to places like the library, the park, the store, or the mall, I would pay attention to everyone and to my surroundings. In my head, I would always ask myself, “Did they give us nasty looks?,” “Why does it seem quieter?” “Was that a cop I just saw?” I would notice little things, like how there were only a few Mexicans out or how empty a store was. When my mom went grocery shopping, I would pray that she would be safe. I was born in America, and both my parents were legally documented. My mom was basically raised here. Still, I couldn’t help but feel nervous.

I knew I shouldn’t have been afraid, but with one look, agents could have automatically thought my family and I were undocumented. Even when the deportation police would figure out that we weren’t undocumented, they’d still figure out a way to deport us—at least that was what was going through my head. It got so bad that I didn’t even want to do the simplest things like go grocery shopping because there was a rumor that the week before a person was taken from Walmart.

I felt scared and nervous, and I wasn’t even undocumented. I can’t even imagine how people who are undocumented must have felt, how they feel. All I can think is that it’s probably ten times worse than what I was feeling. Always worrying about being deported and separated from your family must be hard. I was living in fear, and I didn’t even have it that bad. My heart goes out to families that get separated from each other. It’s because of those fears that I detest the “Constitution-free zone.”

Legally documented and undocumented people who live in the Constitution-free zone are in constant fear of being deported. People shouldn’t have to live this way. In fact, there have been arguments that the 100-mile zone violates the Fourth Amendment, which gives people the right to be protected from unreasonable searches and seizures of property by the government. Unfortunately, the U.S. Supreme Court has consistently upheld these practices.

One question that Lornet Turnbull asks in her YES! article “Two-Thirds of Americans Live in the ‘Constitution-Free Zone’” is, “How should we decide who is welcome in the U.S and who is not?” Instead of focusing on immigrants, how about we focus on the people who shoot up schools, rape girls, exploit women for human sex trafficking, and sell drugs? These are the people who make our country unsafe; they are the ones who shouldn’t be accepted. Even if they are citizens and have the legal right to live here, they still shouldn’t be included. If they are the ones making this country unsafe, then what gives them the right to live here?

I don’t think that the Constitution-free zone is an effective and justifiable way to make this country more “secure.” If someone isn’t causing any trouble in the United States and is just simply living their life, then they should be welcomed here. We shouldn’t have to live in fear that our rights will be taken away. I believe that it’s unfair for people to automatically think that it’s the Hispanics that make this country unsafe. Sure, get all the undocumented people out of the United States, but it’s not going to make this country any safer. It is a society that promotes violence that makes us unsafe, not a race.

Emma Hernandez-Sanchez is a freshman who is passionate about literature and her education. Emma wan ts to inspire others to be creative and try their best. She enjoys reading and creating stories that spark imagination. 

 Powerful Voice Winner

Tiara Lewis

Columbus City Preparatory Schools for Girls,

Columbus, Ohio

Hold Your Head High and Keep Those Fists Down

How would you feel if you walked into a store and salespeople were staring at you? Making you feel like you didn’t belong. Judging you. Assuming that you were going to take something, even though you might have $1,000 on you to spend. Sometimes it doesn’t matter. This is because people will always judge you. It might not be because of your race but for random reasons, like because your hair is black instead of dirty blonde. Or because your hair is short and not long. Or just because they are having a bad day. People will always find ways to bring you down and accuse you of something, but that doesn’t mean you have to go along with it.

Every time I entered a store, I would change my entire personality. I would change the way I talked and the way I walked. I always saw myself as needing to fit in. If a store was all pink, like the store Justice, I would act like a girly girl. If I was shopping in a darker store, like Hot Topic, I would hum to the heavy metal songs and act more goth. I had no idea that I was feeding into stereotypes.

When I was 11, I walked into Claire’s, a well-known store at the mall. That day was my sister’s birthday. Both of us were really happy and had money to spend. As soon as we walked into the store, two employees stared me and my sister down, giving us cold looks. When we went to the cashier to buy some earrings, we thought everything was fine. However, when we walked out of the store, there was a policeman and security guards waiting. At that moment, my sister and I looked at one another, and I said, in a scared little girl voice, “I wonder what happened? Why are they here?”

Then, they stopped us. We didn’t know what was going on. The same employee that cashed us out was screaming as her eyes got big, “What did you steal?” I was starting to get numb. Me and my sister looked at each other and told the truth: “We didn't steal anything. You can check us.” They rudely ripped through our bags and caused a big scene. My heart was pounding like a drum. I felt violated and scared. Then, the policeman said, “Come with us. We need to call your parents.” While this was happening, the employees were talking to each other, smiling. We got checked again. The police said that they were going to check the cameras, but after they were done searching us, they realized that we didn’t do anything wrong and let us go about our day.

Walking in the mall was embarrassing—everybody staring, looking, and whispering as we left the security office. This made me feel like I did something wrong while knowing I didn’t. We went back to the store to get our shopping bags. The employees sneered, “Don't you niggers ever come in this store again. You people always take stuff. This time you just got lucky.” Their faces were red and frightening. It was almost like they were in a scary 3D movie, screaming, and coming right at us. I felt hurt and disappointed that someone had the power within them to say something so harsh and wrong to another person. Those employees’ exact words will forever be engraved in my memory.

In the article, “Two-Thirds of Americans Live in the ‘Constitution-Free Zone’,” Lornet Turnbull states, “In January, they stopped a man in Indio, California, as he was boarding a Los Angeles-bound bus. While questioning this man about his immigration status, agents told him his ‘shoes looked suspicious,’ like those of someone who had recently crossed the border.” They literally judged him by his shoes. They had no proof of anything. If a man is judged by his shoes, who else and what else are being judged in the world?

In the novel  To Kill a Mockingbird , a character named Atticus states, “You just hold your head high and keep those fists down. No matter what anybody says to you, don’t you let’em get your goat. Try fighting with your head for a change.” No matter how much you might try to change yourself, your hairstyle, and your clothes, people will always make assumptions about you. However, you never need to change yourself to make a point or to feel like you fit in. Be yourself. Don’t let those stereotypes turn into facts.

Tiara Lewis is in the eighth grade. Tiara plays the clarinet and is trying to change the world— one essay at a time. She is most often found curled up on her bed, "Divergent" in one hand and a cream-filled doughnut in the other.

Hailee Park

 Wielding My Swords

If I were a swordsman, my weapons would be my identities. I would wield one sword in my left hand and another in my right. People expect me to use both fluently, but I’m not naturally ambidextrous. Even though I am a right-handed swordsman, wielding my dominant sword with ease, I must also carry a sword in my left, the heirloom of my family heritage. Although I try to live up to others’ expectations by using both swords, I may appear inexperienced while attempting to use my left. In some instances, my heirloom is mistaken for representing different families’ since the embellishments look similar.

Many assumptions are made about my heirloom sword based on its appearance, just as many assumptions are made about me based on my physical looks. “Are you Chinese?” When I respond with ‘no,’ they stare at me blankly in confusion. There is a multitude of Asian cultures in the United States, of which I am one. Despite what many others may assume, I am not Chinese; I am an American-born Korean.

“Then… are you Japanese?” Instead of asking a broader question, like “What is your ethnicity?,” they choose to ask a direct question. I reply that I am Korean. I like to think that this answers their question sufficiently; however, they think otherwise. Instead, I take this as their invitation to a duel.

They attack me with another question: “Are you from North Korea or South Korea?” I don’t know how to respond because I’m not from either of those countries; I was born in America. I respond with “South Korea,” where my parents are from because I assume that they’re asking me about my ethnicity. I’m not offended by this situation because I get asked these questions frequently. From this experience, I realize that people don’t know how to politely ask questions about identity to those unlike them. Instead of asking “What is your family's ethnicity?,” many people use rude alternatives, such as “Where are you from?,” or “What language do you speak?”

When people ask these questions, they make assumptions based on someone’s appearance. In my case, people make inferences like:

“She must be really good at speaking Korean.”

“She’s Asian; therefore, she must be born in Asia.”

“She’s probably Chinese.”

These thoughts may appear in their heads because making assumptions is natural. However, there are instances when assumptions can be taken too far. Some U.S. Border Patrol agents in the “Constitution-free zone” have made similar assumptions based on skin color and clothing. For example, agents marked someone as an undocumented immigrant because “his shoes looked suspicious, like those of someone who had recently crossed the border.”

Another instance was when a Jamaican grandmother was forced off a bus when she was visiting her granddaughter. The impetus was her accent and the color of her skin. Government officials chose to act on their assumptions, even though they had no solid proof that the grandmother was an undocumented immigrant. These situations just touch the surface of the issue of racial injustice in America.

When someone makes unfair assumptions about me, they are pointing their sword and challenging me to a duel; I cannot refuse because I am already involved. It is not appropriate for anyone, including Border Patrol agents, to make unjustified assumptions or to act on those assumptions. Border Patrol agents have no right to confiscate the swords of the innocent solely based on their conjectures. The next time I’m faced with a situation where racially ignorant assumptions are made about me, I will refuse to surrender my sword, point it back at them, and triumphantly fight their ignorance with my cultural pride.

Hailee Park is an eighth grader who enjoys reading many genres. While reading, Hailee recognized the racial injustices against immigrants in America, which inspired her essay. Hailee plays violin in her school’s orchestra and listens to and composes music. 

Aminata Toure

East Harlem School, New York City, N.Y.

We Are Still Dreaming

As a young Muslim American woman, I have been labeled things I am not: a terrorist, oppressed, and an ISIS supporter. I have been accused of planning 9/11, an event that happened before I was born. Lately, in the media, Muslims have been portrayed as supporters of a malevolent cause, terrorizing others just because they do not have the same beliefs. I often scoff at news reports that portray Muslims in such a light, just as I scoff at all names I’ve been labeled. They are words that do not define me. 

In a land where labels have stripped immigrants of their personalities, they are now being stripped of something that makes them human: their rights. The situation described in Lornet Turnbull’s article, “Two-Thirds of Americans are Living in the ‘Constitution-Free Zone’,” goes directly against the Constitution, the soul of this country, something that asserts that we are all equal before the law. If immigrants do not have protection from the Constitution, is there any way to feel safe?

Although most insults are easy to shrug off, they are still threatening. I am ashamed when I feel afraid to go to the mosque. Friday is an extremely special day when we gather together to pray, but lately, I haven’t been going to the mosque for Jummah prayers. I have realized that I can never feel safe when in a large group of Muslims because of the widespread hatred of Muslims in the United States, commonly referred to as Islamophobia. Police surround our mosque, and there are posters warning us about dangerous people who might attack our place of worship because we have been identified as terrorists.

I wish I could tune out every news report that blasts out the headline “Terrorist Attack!” because I know that I will be judged based on the actions of someone else. Despite this anti-Muslim racism, what I have learned from these insults is that I am proud of my faith. I am a Muslim, but being Muslim doesn’t define me. I am a writer, a student, a dreamer, a friend, a New Yorker, a helper, and an American. I am unapologetically me, a Muslim, and so much more. I definitely think everyone should get to know a Muslim. They would see that some of us are also Harry Potter fans, not just people planning to bomb the White House.

Labels are unjustly placed on us because of the way we speak, the color of our skin, and what we believe in—not for who we are as individuals. Instead, we should all take more time to get to know one another. As Martin Luther King Jr. said in his “I Have a Dream” speech, we should be judged by the content of our character and not the color of our skin. To me, it seems Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream is a dream that should be a reality. But, for now, we are dreaming.

Aminata Toure is a Guinean American Muslim student. Aminata loves spoken-word poetry and performs in front of hundreds of people at her school’s annual poetry slam. She loves writing, language, history, and West African food and culture. Aminata wants to work at the United Nations when she grows up.

From the Author 

Dear Alessandra, Cain, Daniel, Tiara, Emma, Hailee, Aminata and Ethan,

I am moved and inspired by the thought each of you put into your responses to my story about this so-called “Constitution-free zone.” Whether we realize it or not, immigration in this country impacts all of us— either because we are immigrants ourselves, have neighbors, friends, and family who are, or because we depend on immigrants for many aspects of our lives—from the food we put on our tables to the technology that bewitches us. It is true that immigrants enrich our society in so many important ways, as many of you point out.

And while the federal statute that permits U.S. Border Patrol officers to stop and search at will any of the 200 million of us in this 100-mile shadow border, immigrants have been their biggest targets. In your essays, you highlight how unjust the law is—nothing short of racial profiling. It is heartening to see each of you, in your own way, speaking out against the unfairness of this practice.

Alessandra, you are correct, the immigration system in this country is in shambles. You make a powerful argument about how profiling ostracizes entire communities and how the warrantless searches allowed by this statute impede trust-building between law enforcement and the people they are called on to serve.

And Cain, you point out how this 100-mile zone, along with other laws in the state of Texas where you attended school, make people feel like they’re “always under surveillance, and that, at any moment, you may be pulled over to be questioned and detained.” It seems unimaginable that people live their lives this way, yet millions in this country do.

You, Emma, for example, speak of living in a kind of silent fear since Donald Trump took office, even though you were born in this country and your parents are here legally. You are right, “We shouldn’t have to live in fear that our rights will be taken away.”

And Aminata, you write of being constantly judged and labeled because you’re a Muslim American. How unfortunate and sad that in a country that generations of people fled to search for religious freedom, you are ashamed at times to practice your own. The Constitution-free zone, you write, “goes directly against the Constitution, the soul of this country, something that asserts that we are all equal before the law.”

Tiara, I could personally relate to your gripping account of being racially profiled and humiliated in a store. You were appalled that the Greyhound passenger in California was targeted by Border Patrol because they claimed his shoes looked like those of someone who had walked across the border: “If a man is judged by his shoes,” you ask, “who else and what else are getting judged in the world?”

Hailee, you write about the incorrect assumptions people make about you, an American born of Korean descent, based solely on your appearance and compared it to the assumptions Border Patrol agents make about those they detain in this zone.

Daniel, you speak of the role of political fearmongering in immigration. It’s not new, but under the current administration, turning immigrants into boogiemen for political gain is currency. You write that “For some politicians, it is easier to sell a border wall to a scared population than it is to explain the need for reformed immigration policy.”

And Ethan, you recognize the contributions immigrants make to this country through the connections we all make with them and the strength they bring to our society.

Keep speaking your truth. Use your words and status to call out injustice wherever and whenever you see it. Untold numbers of people spoke out against this practice by Border Patrol and brought pressure on Greyhound to change. In December, the company began offering passengers written guidance—in both Spanish and English—so they understand what their rights are when officers board their bus. Small steps, yes, but progress nonetheless, brought about by people just like you, speaking up for those who sometimes lack a voice to speak up for themselves.

With sincere gratitude,

Lornet Turnbull

Literary Gems

We received many outstanding essays for the Winter 2019 Student Writing Competition. Though not every participant can win the contest, we’d like to share some excerpts that caught our eye:

After my parents argued with the woman, they told me if you can fight with fists, you prove the other person’s point, but when you fight with the power of your words, you can have a much bigger impact. I also learned that I should never be ashamed of where I am from. —Fernando Flores, The East Harlem School, New York City, N.Y.

Just because we were born here and are privileged to the freedom of our country, we do not have the right to deprive others of a chance at success. —Avalyn Cox, Brier Terrace Middle School, Brier, Wash.

Maybe, rather than a wall, a better solution to our immigration problem would be a bridge. —Sean Dwyer, Lane Community College, Eugene, Ore.

If anything, what I’ve learned is that I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to change our world. I don’t know how to make a difference, how to make my voice heard. But I have learned the importance of one word, a simple two-letter word that’s taught to the youngest of us, a word we all know but never recognize: the significance of ‘we.’ —Enna Chiu, Highland Park High School, Highland Park, N.J.

Not to say the Border Patrol should not have authorization to search people within the border, but I am saying it should be near the border, more like one mile, not 100. —Cooper Tarbuck, Maranacook Middle School, Manchester, Maine.

My caramel color, my feminism, my Spanish and English language, my Mexican culture, and my young Latina self gives me the confidence to believe in myself, but it can also teach others that making wrong assumptions about someone because of their skin color, identity, culture, looks or gender can make them look and be weaker. —Ana Hernandez, The East Harlem School, New York City, N.Y.

We don’t need to change who we are to fit these stereotypes like someone going on a diet to fit into a new pair of pants. —Kaylee Meyers, Brier Terrace Middle School, Brier, Wash.

If a human being with no criminal background whatsoever has trouble entering the country because of the way he or she dresses or speaks, border protection degenerates into arbitrariness. —Jonas Schumacher, Heidelberg University of Education, Heidelberg, Germany

I believe that you should be able to travel freely throughout your own country without the constant fear of needing to prove that you belong here . —MacKenzie Morgan, Lincoln Middle School, Ypsilanti, Mich.

America is known as “the Land of Opportunity,” but this label is quickly disappearing. If we keep stopping those striving for a better life, then what will become of this country? —Ennyn Chiu, Highland Park Middle School, Highland Park, N.J.

The fact that two-thirds of the people in the U.S. are living in an area called the “Constitution-free zone” is appalling. Our Constitution was made to protect our rights as citizens, no matter where we are in the country. These systems that we are using to “secure” our country are failing, and we need to find a way to change them. —Isis Liaw, Brier Terrace Middle School, Brier, Wash.

I won’t let anyone, especially a man, tell me what I can do, because I am a strong Latina. I will represent where I come from, and I am proud to be Mexican. I will show others that looks can be deceiving. I will show others that even the weakest animal, a beautiful butterfly, is tough, and it will cross any border, no matter how challenging the journey may be. —Brittany Leal, The East Harlem School, New York City, N.Y.

This article is syndicated from  YES!  magazine.  YES! Magazine  reframes the biggest problems of our time in terms of their solutions. Online and in print, it outlines a path forward with in-depth analysis, tools for citizen engagement, and stories about real people working for a better world.  Lornet Turnbull is an editor for YES! and a Seattle-based freelance writer. Follow her on Twitter @TurnbullL.

SHARE YOUR REFLECTION

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On Jul 22, 2021 Kristin Pedemonti wrote:

Thank you so much for sharing the powerful and wise words if these teen writers, their perspectives are needed and I'm grateful for their courage to share their experiences.

Your article was so timely for me as this very eve I will deliver the Keynote for the National Storytelling Network Conference: Connected Across the Divide. Pop the Bubble: how compassion, curiosity and considering context and complexity might help us better understand each other rather than make assumptions.

How to Apply to College as an Undocumented Student

Growing up, many undocumented students face the harsh reality that higher education might be out of reach for them due to a lack of clear information and financial and legal concerns. However, with the right knowledge and resources, pursuing a college education is not only possible but can also lead to fulfilling career opportunities.

In this article, we will provide step-by-step advice on what undocumented students need to know. From understanding the role of DACA in college admissions to exploring financial aid options for undocumented students. Whether you’re an undocumented student yourself or a counselor supporting such students, this guide will equip you with the knowledge and resources to successfully navigate the college application process.

What is an Undocumented Student?

An undocumented student is a foreign-born individual who doesn’t have a legal status in the United States. This can include students who entered the country without inspection or overstayed their visas. Despite their undocumented status, many of these students have lived in the U.S. for a significant portion of their lives and consider it their home.

Can Undocumented Students Apply to College?

Yes, undocumented students can apply to college. There are no federal or state laws that prohibit undocumented students from applying to, enrolling in, or graduating from public or private colleges or universities. A significant number of colleges and universities admit undocumented students. However, policies vary from one institution to another, so it’s important for students to research each school’s policies.

DACA and College Admissions

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is a policy that provides temporary relief from deportation and work authorization for certain undocumented individuals who came to the United States as children. DACA status can play a significant role in the admissions process. For instance, some colleges and universities may consider DACA students as domestic students, which can open up more opportunities for in-state tuition and financial aid.

However, it’s important to note that DACA students are not qualified for federal financial aid. Despite this, there are many scholarships for undocumented students, including those with DACA status.

The College Application Process for Undocumented Students

The college application process can be daunting for any high school student, but it can be particularly challenging for undocumented students. However, it’s important to know that undocumented students can apply to college. While the process may be more complex due to their status, many colleges and universities are committed to supporting all students, regardless of their immigration status.

When applying to colleges and universities, undocumented students may face unique challenges. For instance, some schools may classify undocumented students as international students, which can affect tuition rates and financial aid opportunities. Additionally, the application may ask for a social security number, which many undocumented individuals do not have. However, many schools will allow students to leave this field blank or enter a series of zeroes.

College Search: Finding the Right Fit

The first step in the college planning process is the college search. Undocumented students can use the same resources as other college students to find a college that fits their needs. However, they should also consider how schools will treat undocumented students. Some colleges and universities often have resources specifically for undocumented and DACA students, including admissions counselors who are knowledgeable regarding undocumented students.

The Common Application

The Common Application is a widely used college application that many schools accept. It does not require applicants to provide a social security number, which means undocumented applicants can use it. However, undocumented students cannot apply for federal student aid through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

Paying for College as an Undocumented Student

Paying for college can be a significant hurdle for undocumented students. As mentioned earlier, undocumented students do not qualify for federal financial aid. However, some states offer state financial aid to undocumented students. Additionally, some colleges and universities offer financial aid to undocumented students.

In-state tuition can make college more affordable for undocumented students. Some states allow undocumented students to qualify for in-state tuition at public colleges and universities. However, policies vary by state and institution.

Are undocumented students eligible for federal financial aid?

No, undocumented students, including DACA recipients, are not eligible for federal financial aid. This includes all federal grants, loans, and work-study programs. However, some states offer state financial aid for undocumented students. These opportunities can make a significant difference in whether these students can afford to go to college. It’s important to check the specific laws and restrictions on undocumented students in your state.

What types of financial aid are available for undocumented students?

While undocumented students do not qualify for federal financial aid, they may still qualify for other types of aid. Here are some options:

• State Aid : Some states offer financial aid to undocumented students. These programs vary by state, so it’s important to research the specific requirements in your state.
• Institutional Aid : Many colleges and universities offer their own financial aid packages, which can include grants, scholarships, and work-study opportunities. Some institutions have specific funds set aside for undocumented students.
• Private Scholarships : There are numerous private scholarships available specifically for undocumented students. These scholarships are funded by private organizations, individuals, and foundations, and they do not require U.S. citizenship or legal residency.

How can undocumented students pay for college without federal aid?

Though undocumented students cannot apply for federal aid, there are many opportunities for undocumented students looking to fund their studies. Here are some strategies:

• Personal Savings : Saving money from part-time or summer jobs can help cover some college expenses.
• Scholarships : Many organizations  offer scholarships for undocumented students . These scholarships can help cover the cost of tuition, books, and other expenses. It’s worth spending time researching these opportunities and applying to as many as possible.
• State or Institutional Aid : Check if your state or college offers financial aid to undocumented students. This can significantly reduce the cost of tuition.
• Private Loans : While federal loans are not an option, some private banks and lenders do offer loans to undocumented students. However, these often require a creditworthy cosigner and may have higher interest rates.
• Payment Plans : Some colleges offer payment plans that allow you to pay tuition in installments rather than in one lump sum.
• Work-Study or Part-Time Jobs : If you have work authorization (such as through DACA), you can earn money through work-study programs or part-time jobs.

Remember, every bit helps. Even small scholarships can add up and reduce the amount you need to pay out-of-pocket or borrow in loans. It’s important to start planning early and explore all options. Don’t be discouraged by the challenges, there are resources available to help you achieve your educational goals.

How to Find the Right College for Undocumented Students

Choosing the right college is a significant decision for any student, and for undocumented students, this process can come with its own unique set of considerations. Here are some factors that undocumented students should consider when choosing a college:

Financial Aid Policies

One of the first things to look at is the college’s financial aid policies. Since undocumented students cannot receive federal financial aid, it’s important to find schools that offer other forms of financial assistance. Some colleges and universities offer institutional aid or scholarships specifically for undocumented students. Additionally, some states allow undocumented students to pay in-state tuition rates at public colleges and universities, which can significantly reduce the cost of attendance.

Support for Undocumented Students

Another crucial factor is the level of support the college provides for undocumented students. This can include counseling services, legal resources, and academic advising. Some colleges have an Undocumented Student Center or a designated staff member who specializes in supporting undocumented students. These resources can provide valuable guidance and assistance throughout the college experience.

School’s Attitude Towards Immigrants

The school’s overall attitude towards immigrants can also play a big role in creating a welcoming and inclusive environment. This can be reflected in the school’s policies, student body, campus culture, and the resources it provides for immigrant students. Researching the school’s mission statement, diversity initiatives, and student organizations can give you a sense of the school’s values and commitment to supporting all students, regardless of their immigration status.

Academic Programs and Opportunities

Finally, it’s important to choose a school that offers the academic programs and opportunities that align with the student’s career goals. Undocumented students, like all students, should consider their academic interests and career aspirations when choosing your school. Look at the school’s course offerings, majors, internships, research opportunities, and job placement rates in your field of interest.

Remember, choosing a college is a personal decision, and what works for one person might not work for another. It’s important to take the time to research and visit different colleges, ask questions, and weigh your options.

Resources for Undocumented Students

Navigating the college application process can be a daunting task, especially for undocumented students who may face additional challenges due to their immigration status. Fortunately, there are numerous resources available that can provide valuable information and assistance.

College Access Programs

College access programs aim to help students from underrepresented backgrounds, including undocumented students, navigate the college application process. These programs often provide services such as college counseling, assistance with college applications and financial aid forms, and college visits. Some well-known programs include the College Advising Corps and the National College Attainment Network.

Immigrant Rights Organizations

Immigrant rights organizations advocate for the rights of immigrants, including undocumented students. They often provide resources such as legal information, scholarship databases, and guides to college for undocumented students. Examples of these organizations include the National Immigration Law Center and United We Dream.

School Counselors

Some colleges and universities often have resources specifically for undocumented and DACA students, including college admissions counselors who are knowledgeable  regarding undocumented students . School counselors can be a valuable resource for undocumented students. They can provide information about the college application process, offer emotional support, and connect students with other resources. It’s important for undocumented students to communicate with their school counselors about their needs and concerns.

Undocumented Student Centers

Some colleges and universities have Undocumented Student Centers or similar offices that provide support and resources specifically for undocumented students. These centers may offer services such as academic advising, legal consultations, and mental health counseling. They can also connect students with on-campus and community resources.

Online Resources

There are also numerous online resources available to help undocumented students navigate the college application process. Websites like The College Board and Educators for Fair Consideration offer guides, toolkits, and other resources specifically designed for undocumented students.

These resources can provide valuable information and assistance, helping undocumented students understand their rights, find financial aid, and successfully navigate the college application process. It’s important for undocumented students to reach out for help and utilize these resources. 

Tips for Undocumented High School Students Applying to College

1. reach out to the university’s center or program for undocumented students.

Undocumented students should connect with the university’s center or program specifically designed to support them. These centers can provide valuable information about the application process and answer questions related to financial aid.

Additionally, they serve as a resource and community for undocumented students throughout their college journey.

2. Understand How Your Status Affects the Application Process

Different universities have varying policies regarding the treatment of undocumented students during the application process. Some may consider undocumented students as domestic applicants, while others treat them as international students.

It is crucial to contact each school you plan to apply to and learn how they handle applications from undocumented students to understand their financial aid policies.

3. Consider the Campus Environment and Surrounding Community

When choosing an institution, it is essential to feel comfortable and safe not only on campus but also in the surrounding town or city.

Research the community and assess its positive social climate and the availability of services for undocumented individuals. Feeling supported and welcomed in your college environment is key to a successful college experience.

4. Get Involved with College Access Programs in High School

High school students should take advantage of college access programs that offer college admission counseling and test preparation courses. These programs can help students navigate the college application process and provide vital resources. Reach out to your teachers, local colleges, or your local YMCA chapter to find CA programs in your area.

5. Embrace Your Identity and Share Your Story

Many undocumented students fear revealing their immigration status during the college application process. However, embracing your identity can be powerful and compelling.

Share your story and experiences in your application essay, as it may help admissions officers understand your unique perspective and background.

6. Seek Private Scholarships

Undocumented students can start looking for private scholarships early in their senior year of high school. Private scholarships can cover not only tuition but also discretionary costs like meals, housing, transportation, and books.

Check with civic organizations in your hometown and your prospective college campus for available scholarships.

7. Inquire About Institutional Aid

While undocumented students cannot receive federal financial aid, they may be eligible for institutional aid offered by colleges and universities.

Some states may also provide financial aid for undocumented students. Contact admissions counselors and financial aid offices to inquire about the specific policies and opportunities available at each institution.

8. Ask About Fee Waivers for Applicants with Financial Need

Many colleges have policies that waive application fees for students with financial need, including undocumented students.

Don’t assume that every school will be unwilling to provide financial assistance. Reach out to the admissions office to inquire about fee waivers and explore opportunities to save on your college application expenses.

9. Consider Applying for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, often referred to as DACA, provides certain protections for undocumented individuals who were brought to the United States as children. This can impact whether undocumented students can access certain resources or face restrictions, such as restricting students from attending public colleges.

Seek assistance to ensure accurate completion of the DACA application and explore organizations like United We Dream for guidance.

10. Stay Informed About Policy Changes

Laws and policies affecting undocumented immigrants are subject to change. It is crucial for undocumented students to stay informed about the current landscape and any updates that may affect their educational journey. Seek reliable sources of information and verify any questions or concerns with trusted advisors.

• National Immigrant Law Center
• TheDream.US Scholarship
• United States Department of Education – Undocumented Students
• United We Dream

Though the path to college may seem challenging for undocumented students, it’s important to remember that many have successfully enrolled in college before. With careful planning, the right resources, and a supportive community, undocumented students can get the right tools to pursue their college career and achieve their dreams. Attending college is still an attainable goal and we hope that this guide will help you pick the college choice that’s right for you.

Also read: How to Proofread Your College Application Essay Like a Pro: 5 Tips

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The Morning

President biden’s distrust challenge.

We explain how one set of voters may decide the 2024 election.

By David Leonhardt

The voters likely to decide the Biden-Trump rematch don’t participate in most elections. They are irregular voters who tend to skip primaries and midterm elections but do often turn out for the country’s highest-profile campaign — a presidential election.

Nate Cohn, The Times’s chief political analyst, explained this phenomenon in a recent article. President Biden leads Donald Trump among Americans who are highly engaged with politics, Nate noted. Yet less engaged voters are so dissatisfied with the country’s condition that they prefer Trump by a wide enough margin to give Trump a small overall lead.

2024 preferences among different voter groups

Voted in a 2022 primary

Voted in 2022 midterms but not primaries

Voted in 2020 but not 2022

No voting history

These irregular voters have different concerns on average than politically engaged Americans do. Irregular voters are less likely to focus on hot-button issues that motivate committed Democrats and Republicans, like abortion, immigration and democracy. Irregular voters focus more on pocketbook issues like inflation and health care. They are more likely to say the economy is in bad shape.

Infrequent voters are different from regular voters

Comparing people who voted in 2020 with registered voters who did not vote that year. History and recent polling suggest many people in the second group will vote this year.

Did not vote

DEMOGRAPHICS

Do not have a

bachelor’s degree

Are younger than 45

Say economy is only

fair or poor

Want a politician who

promises fundamental

Say economy or health

care is a top 2024 issue

Use social media as

main news source

Always pay attention

to politics

Voted in 2020

Did not vote in 2020

promises fundamental change

Say economy or health care

is a top 2024 issue

A Carolina lament

I think this pattern helps explain why some of Biden’s core campaign messages have not resonated with swing voters. Biden talks about the country’s soul and pitches himself as a defender of American values, especially democracy. It is an understandable pitch in many ways: Trump is hostile to democratic traditions in a way that no other modern U.S. politician has been.

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