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Action Alert – North Carolina legislature moves to ban undocumented students from higher education

May 22, 2008 in Action Alert by Administrator

North Carolina alone is moving ahead with an interpretation of a federal law that the state says bars illegal immigrants from attending community colleges, even if the students pay more than the cost of their education.

The new policy, (PDF) approved May 13 by the North Carolina Community College System, comes after six months of political and legal controversy on the topic, but it is unlikely to be the last word in an area where federal courts and immigration officials have offered little guidance to states.

Practically speaking, the decision’s effect will be limited. It doesn’t apply to students attending English as a Second Language classes or vocational training, for instance. Only 112 North Carolina community college students who pursued academic credit last year – out of a total of 296,520 – likely were illegal immigrants, according to the community college system.

But symbolically, the policy is “insulting” to Latinos, said Tony Asion, executive director of El Pueblo, a Raleigh-based non-profit group focused on developing the Latino community. He pointed out that, before the change, undocumented students were allowed to enroll but had to pay out-of-state tuition, which is set at 40 percent above cost that the colleges spend to educate them. Other North Carolina residents get a discount.

Admitting undocumented students “isn’t taking any money from anyone. It isn’t taking any (class) space from anyone. The reason (for the change) is: ‘We just don’t want these people in our schools,’” Asion said.

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1. What to DO – CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES

To find your elected
official, go to: http://www.ncleg.net/ and click on Representation.

Contact NC Speaker of the House & President Pro Tem

Contact Speaker of the House Rep. Joe Hackney (919-733-3451) Joeh@ncleg.net and
President Pro Tem Sen. Marc Basnight (919-733-6854, Marcb@ncleg.net) to let them know that you do not want the NC Legislature to ban undocumented students from our community colleges and universities.

Contact Governor Easley (1-800-662-7952-NC only, 919-733-4240, or 919-733-5811) to thank him or supporting undocumented students through his public statements. Ask him to continue his leadership in support of access to higher education for immigrant students.

Sample letter to send to your representatives:

This is in regards to the proposal to ban undocumented students from higher education institutions in North Carolina. We firmly oppose this move as it is a wrong interpretation of federal immigration law, a waste of public resources and serves no compelling state interest.

The Attorney General of North Carolina has wrongly interpreted the 1996 federal law, spinning it to mean that undocumented students should be denied postsecondary education benefits when the law only states that undocumented students shall not qualify for any post-secondary benefit that are not already available to U.S. citizens and nationals. Post-secondary education, in and of itself, is already available to all U.S. citizens and nationals.

Additionally, an ICE memo recently clarified that United States federal law did not prohibit undocumented students from attending colleges in Americaâ€”the matter is up to the sole discretion of the postsecondary educational institution.

Here is a look at undocumented students in North Carolina by the numbers that shows how admitting undocumented students is a net-benefit, a profit-making opportunity for higher education in North Carolina:

27 – UNC system students who are illegal immigrants, out of 200,000
340 – Community college students who are illegal immigrants, out of 271,000
$5,300 – Annual cost of educating a full-time student at a community college
$7,465 – Out-of-state tuition illegal immigrants pay at community college

Since undocumented students make up less than one-tenth of one percent of students in the North Carolina system and do not burden taxpayers because they are not eligible for financial aid or grants, it would be ludicrous not to educate them.Â Moreover, since they have to pay ‘out of state’ tuition, it more than covers the cost of their enrollment. There can be no justification for denying higher education to students–regardless of immigration status–if they merit those spots under status quo federal and state law.

For any legal precedence on the education of undocumented students, we should look to Plyler v. Doe that guaranteed K-12 for all students regardless of immigration status since punishing students for the alleged transgressions of their parents advances no compelling state interest and instead, fosters a permanent underclass of unassimilated individuals. And since there is no evidence that these students would not remain in the United States, eventually becoming legal permanent residents and citizens, denying them access to education would be sheer folly. We must apply the precedent to post-secondary education; after all, the worst kind of public waste is in throwing away our K-12 investments, our talented, hardworking undocumented American students like Meynardo Garcia who have beaten the odds to reach college, and yet, are still forced to live in the shadows.

Plyler v. Doe is quite relevant to North Carolina post-secondary education as denying undocumented students access to higher education serves no compelling state interest and moreover, would eventually harm the state of North Carolina. As Martin Lancaster, former systemwide President of the NC Community College system stated:

“…To deny a significant portion of tomorrowâ€™s workforce any higher education opportunities will not only hurt these young people who came to North Carolina through no fault of their own, but it will also significantly diminish their incomes forever. The consequences to North Carolina are reduced tax collections and potential payments for social services and incarceration long into the future.Â This will hit the pocketbooks of those who now oppose maximizing the earning capacity of everyone who lives in North Carolina. This ill-advised position would hurt North Carolina and its economic future and will increase the tax burden of those now screaming the loudest.”

We hope the state government and educators stop playing politics with the lives of our students and our future. We can either elect to create a permanent underclass of angry and frustrated undocumented American youth being punished for crimes they did not commit or we can help produce educated and productive members of our society. The choice should be simple.

Â 2. Write a letter to the editor of papers in North Carolina. Make sure the voices heard are not one-sided.