College dreams in jeopardy

Emilia moved to the United States from Mexico when she was 9 months old.

The Sedalia teen, who is identified here by a fictitious name, is an undocumented immigrant who has aspirations of going to college when she graduates from high school. But a bill that went through the Missouri House of Representatives last week may threaten her goal.

House Bill 1463, if passed by the Missouri Senate, would prohibit undocumented immigrants from enrolling in public colleges and universities. The legislation would require public colleges and universities to verify to lawmakers that they have not knowingly enrolled illegal immigrants before the institutions can receive state money.

If this bill becomes a law “I would have to find a job,” Emilia said. “If I can’t further my education, I’ll just start working paycheck to paycheck, even though that’s not the life I want to live. My parents are living like that.”

Emilia has mixed feelings about the legal situation in which she finds herself.

“I kind of appreciate that our parents brought us here because we have a roof over our head. But I wish they would have done it sooner so I could have been born here.”

This is the third time the bill has made it through the House and gone to the Senate, where it has stalled for the last two years, according to the Associated Press.

“This bill makes a lot of sense. It confirms what federal law says. The citizens of Missouri are not required to pay the costs of higher education for illegal aliens,” said Rep. Stanley Cox, R-Sedalia, a co-sponsor of the bill.

A 1996 federal law prohibits states from offering resident college tuition rates to students illegally present in the United States unless all U.S. citizens are eligible for the same tuition breaks.

Rep. Tom Self, also co-sponsoring the bill, is very supportive of the proposed legislation and doesn’t think “we should be spending one single dime on anyone who is in this country illegally.”

Self, R-Cole Camp, thinks the issue is cut and dried, even when it comes to undocumented children who have been living in America most of their lives.

“Even though there are some unfortunate circumstances, we all wish we had more money to help with tuition and scholarships. We want to make available as many dollars as possible for people who work hard and pay taxes,” Self said. “We have to draw the line somewhere, and if you’re here legally, you qualify for benefits. If you’re here illegally, you don’t.”

Cox placed the blame with the undocumented children’s parents.

“Every time a parent does something bad, it impacts their children,” Cox said. “It’s sad, but that’s their choice. The purpose is not to be punitive.”

But proposals like HB 1463 affect the children deeply, said Juan Frausto, a translator for Sedalia School District 200.

“This is their home country to them,” Frausto said of undocumented students who arrived here as babies. “That I know of, here at the high school, there are 10 to 15 students that are thinking about going to college, but they’re facing the problem of legal status, and they’re good students.”
Going back to their country of origin is not necessarily the best option, either, he said.

“Even if they can speak Spanish conversationally, the grammar and structure will be difficult at the university level just because they’ve been here all their lives,” he said.

Emilia agreed, saying she felt more comfortable speaking in English.

“I come home to Mexican parents, but I live in a place where it’s all English,” she said. “I’m caught in between.

“My life is different from the immigrants with papers. I see some of them growing up with papers, and when they turn 16 they can sign up and get a driver’s license. I can’t because I’m undocumented. I’m more likely to take the risk of getting arrested for speeding because I don’t have a license. There’s a whole bunch of points against me for not having papers.”

In the meantime, Emilia said she’s just trying to hold out until the next federal immigration reform comes around.
rflorez@sedaliademocrat.com