Posted on 11/23/2008 8:29:04 PM PST by Coleus
Undocumented residents living in the country illegally can go to college here. That message was heard loud and clear by roughly 40 Hispanic parents and children who participated in a seminar Thursday night at Passaic High School designed to encourage undocumented immigrants to pursue higher education. Diana Esparragoza, 16, a sophomore at the high school who moved to the United States from Colombia when she was 7, said she was heartened to learn she could go to college. She said she dreams of being a psychologist or a lawyer but she wasn’t sure if she needed a Social Security number to be accepted into college.
"I thought I would just graduate, and get a job, and whatever," said Esparragoza, in the high school’s auditorium. "[But] I get good grades and I didn’t want to put it to waste." It was the first time Passaic High School had sponsored an information night to help undocumented immigrants learn their rights, said Schools Superintendent Robert Holster. The number of undocumented students has risen over the past five to eight years and is now as high as 20 percent of the student body, he said.
A student’s legal status often means parents keep themselves in the dark about preparing students academically and understanding educational rights, regardless of legal status. Under state policy, it’s illegal for pre-K-12 public schools to ask about a student’s immigration status, said Frank Belluscio, spokesman for the New Jersey School Boards Association. And, across the nation, pre-K-12 school officials must admit a child even if a school knows the child’s legal status is in question, according to a federal court decision, Belluscio said.
At the college level, policy varies from state to state, said Paul Shelly, spokesman for the New Jersey Association of State Colleges and Universities. In New Jersey, students do not need proof of legal residency to apply to publicly funded four-year institutions. However, to pay lower, in-state tuition, a student must prove legal residency for at least a year, Shelly said.
The Spanish-language seminar Thursday evening was sponsored by a program at the high school called College Readiness Passaic, an initiative of the school district that is funded by two federal grants. Guest speakers included two Passaic County Community College officials and an immigration attorney. Maritza Davila, assistant admissions director of Passaic County Community College, which opened a new campus in Passaic on Paulison Avenue this fall, stressed that the college "isn’t the police" and won’t ask for citizenship documents. She warned, however, that fewer financial-aid options are available to undocumented residents.
Not much since I ripped all the mussels out of my back bu I'm going to have to pretty quick, SS won't pay the bills!
Medicare should cover it.
You paid for it all yer life, and they are gonna clam up on you now?
Life’s a beach...
Medicare pays most of my medical bills but until I can grow back some mussels I can’t do much.
I came down 10’, landed on my head and my feet folded clear over my head until they hit the ground and tore out all the mussels in my lower back.
It’s been almost 6 months and I still can’t straighten clear up.
At least my kidneys have re attached and my breastbone has healed.
I remember you mentioning the fall in the past.
Slow healing process, but at least you are healing.
Good luck with the continuing of the healing.
I painted for years, but avoided ladders as much as I could.
My kid is up on roofs all the time, but only got hurt when he hit a bear at 70mph on his motorcycle...
I imagine that if Colleges and High Schools required verification of legal status in order to enroll that:
1) There would be far fewer illegal immigrant families coming to America
2) Cost of public education would go down
3) There would be less gang related problems in schools
4) There would be a drop in the community crime rate
5) There would be fewer students competing for a limited number of scholarships.
6) There would be fewer teens competing for the limited number of summer jobs
.... add your own.
why dont mexicans complain about giving illegal guatemalans in mexico college education? this is so one sided its not even funny
wow ive never been more embarrassed to be an american. Ive never read so much ignorance in one page. This country is not even ours! WE ARE not even natives and you guys are claiming that you have more rights than illegal immigrants when you ancestors were probably immigrants themselves. I have never been so disgusted in my life to think that we are in the year 2012 and this type of prejudice still exists. It is pretty embarrassing to be part of a country that everyone looks up to and behind the scenes we are acting like we are cavemen. EMBARRASSING. These immigrants that come here they do the little jobs that none of us want to do just to make a living, making the economy grow, and all you can say is EXTERMINATE THEM? WHO ARE YOU? better question is WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? GOD? embarrassing.
What part of the word ‘illegal’ do you NOT understand?
I don’t care if they are put ion prison, deported, or exterminated as long as the criminals are out of this country!
Your government dictated public education is showing. ... This country is not even ours!
Stuck on stupid I tell you!!!!!
I’m native. I was born here. What’s the issue? And they’re illegals, not “immigrants”. BTW, did you sign up just to reply to this post?
IBTZ!
PING!
check out the born on dates and posting history for fireangel82 & mishy95. Zotbait for sure, but are they one in the same?
You don't deserve to be here like it or not is no skin off anyones nose. You jumped ahead of those who are waiting to come here legally...what about them? They're paying their dues and you know as well as they do what you have to do to be legal...so get off you "Lazy" butt and do it the right way...and by the way go home until you've done it the right way and I could are less how much you're paying for anything here.....you are illegal....you're first assignment should be to study the word legal along with illegal. You have broken our laws....want to check your country's laws if we go there illegally...that would also be good to look at.
So no...you don't deserve to be here ahead of those who are trying to do so according to our laws...not at all.
US citizens are less than foreigners in their own country. Talk about upside down....it's twisted and marred beyond belief!
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