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Posted on 05/06/2003 8:40:13 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
Humberto Retana wants to spare other undocumented immigrants the anxiety he felt as a high school sophomore in Texas when he couldn't attend college because he was in the United States illegally.
Retana found peace of mind when he became a citizen through an amnesty program. Now he is working with others in the Bay Area on a more targeted but just as controversial solution: the Student Adjustment Act, a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives that would grant legal status to any child of undocumented immigrants who is pursuing a college education in the United States.
``I asked my dad, `What are we going to do?' '' recalled Retana, 32, who crossed the Texas-Mexico border with his mother when he was 8. ``To me, the question was so overwhelming. I felt utter helplessness.''
Bipartisan support
Many Republicans and Democrats support the plan, saying it would provide a permanent fix to the dilemma facing thousands of undocumented children who grow up in the United States but can be deported even if they manage to earn a degree. These children, they say, are paying a hefty price for the decision their parents made to cross the border.
``The issue is when these students graduate from college, they're still undocumented,'' said Bernardo Merino, a volunteer with the People United for Legalization of Students, a Bay Area group that supports the bill. The federal legislation would ``legalize their status so they can fully contribute to society,'' Merino said.
But a number of national groups that advocate tighter immigration controls oppose the plan, calling it a back door to amnesty.
``This is a strategic move, so amnesty can be expanded to millions of other illegal aliens,'' said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies. ``The supporters of this have calculated that by targeting the most sympathetic group possible -- college-bound young people -- they can create an environment where a broader amnesty is possible.''
Giving students legal immigration status also sends out a message that illegal immigration to the United States is acceptable, said Dave Ray, a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which also opposes the bill.
``The message this sends is, if you violate our laws, you can get amnesty,'' Ray said.
Obstacles for students
Without a Social Security card, undocumented immigrants often find it difficult to apply for college, even though some states, such as California, do not require the document. In most states, they also don't qualify for financial aid. Even if they manage to complete college, they can't work legally in the United States without a Social Security card.
``The situation for these students is really, really difficult,'' said Claudia Gomez, an advocate with the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights in Oakland. ``They can't legalize their status on their own because there's no mechanism for it.''
For Retana, immigration law reforms in 1986 gave him the break he needed -- amnesty, citizenship and a higher education. He graduated in 1999 from the University of California-Berkeley with a bachelor's degree in psychology.
He spends weekends and nights working as a volunteer with the People United for the Legalization of Students.
``I can identify with them because those circumstances were painful to me,'' Retana said. ``I know it's for the ultimate good of the student and the good of the community.''
LAWS, PROPOSALS THAT HELP IMMIGRANT STUDENTS
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Thousands of undocumented children who grow up in the United States can be deported even if they manage to earn a degree.
• The Dream Act would allow eligible students to apply for green cards, opening the door to federal grants and other financial aid.
• The Student Adjustment Act, a bill in the House, would grant legal status to the children of undocumented immigrants who are pursuing a college education in the United States.
• California, New York, Texas and Utah have passed laws in recent years that allow undocumented students living in the United States to pay resident tuition rates at certain state universities.
It's all over, folks!
See also "Green Card Soldiers Don't Pass Muster," LA Times, Opinion, May 6, 2003 at http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/
(Don't know why html isn't working)
So while we don't want to encourage illegals, on the other hand we do want legal immigrants who are or become college graduates. And a case can be made that the kids did not on their own volition come sneaking into the country - they were obeying their parents. There is an "intent" issue here from a legal perspective.
My personal "solution" to this would be: make the kids obligated to pay a fine -- something like $50K. Payments to start when they finish college or turn 24, whichever is soon, and must be paid off 5 years after the payments start - or they get deported. Advantage -- the $50K can go right to the border patrol, thus providing a "fee based" approach to make it harder for illegals to enter the country. But keep the ones who get the college degree and who are taxpayers -- after all, the sin was their parents, not theirs.
Oh, and by the way. Mine the border, put snipers every 2 miles, and shoot anyone and anything that moves, day or night, along the border. This will require buying out the current property owners of course. And I am serious. Shoot, shoot to kill, and keep shooting until anything being shot at stops moving. That will stop border crossings dead. Heh heh.
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In principle I agree with this solution, but I'm not sure it will be workable in places like El Paso/Juarez. Do you really want land mines in a metropolitan area? Snipers hanging out on I-10?
MD
Yeah, I don't get this. Even though I don't agree, I can see why blacks and american indians get special treatment, but why hispanics? Who "oppressed" them?
So thats the problem. Whats needed is a mechanism for self-naturalization. So simple, yet brilliant.
Just the kind of logic expected from illegal immigration's overt allies & quiet sympathizers (you know who you are).
Intellectual buffoons & useful idiots.
Illegal immigration happy talk is the Merc's specialty. Facts be damned, to them illegals are the bread of life.
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