For Luis Gonzalez, a junior at Georgetown University, it’s hard to envision what life will look like after college. He is undocumented and a beneficiary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which protects undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children from being deported. In September, President Donald Trump ordered an end to the program, making the possibility of deportation a real concern for students like Gonzalez.
“When I secured my DACA status, it allowed me to make the decision to come to Georgetown. DACA gave me the confidence and the security I had not had before,” Gonzalez, an American studies and government major, said at an October campus event where college presidents from the Washington region advocated for continued protection for undocumented students. “I do not want to go back to living in the shadows,” he said.
Gonzalez is one of many who are advocating for new legislation that can protect current and prospective students who are Dreamers, a common term for undocumented immigrants who would benefit from the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act. Members of Congress, such as Rep. Rubén Kihuen (D-Nev.) and Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.), as well as celebrities have asked for an extension of DACA.
[Find the right college as an undocumented applicant.]
According to a U.S. Department of Education resource guide, each year approximately 65,000 undocumented students graduate from U.S. high schools. No matter how uncertain the future looks, though, higher education experts say these students should still apply to college — but they should also search for inclusive institutions.
“I think students should feel confident that there are hundreds — thousands — of colleges in the United States who’ve expressed an interest in nondiscriminatory policies, who’ve expressed their support of the values of inclusion and diversity,” says Timothy Brunold, dean of admission at the University of Southern California.
College presidents at the University of Chicago, Harvard University and several other institutions have written Trump to ask him to rethink his stance on DACA and support students with this status. In September, USC also approved a new resource center for undocumented students.
The university has a few dozen students without legal status, Brunold says. He encourages undocumented prospective college students not to hesitate to apply.
“I really don’t think it makes a lot of sense to put one’s future on hold, especially when we really don’t know what the outcome of any of these discussions are going to be,” Brunold says. “For anyone who has prepared and feels like that’s the next step for them, I think they ought to go ahead and apply.”
To start their college search, Dreamers can research which states have laws that help undocumented students pay for college and then focus on schools in those states, experts say.
[Discover scholarships that help undocumented students.]
United We Dream and the University Leaders for Educational Access and Diversity Network have maps on their websites that detail tuition equity laws and tuition policies by state, says Nancy Jodaitis, director of higher education initiatives at Educators for Fair Consideration, which advocates for undocumented youth.
Undocumented students in California, for example, may be able to pay reduced tuition and fees than other students. “If they have attended high school in California, they also may apply for funds from the state of California, through the Dream Act, which is a law that went into effect in California back in 2012 that allows students to receive some grant funding from the state of California,” says Brunold. State leaders also announced in September that they would pledge an additional $10 million dollars to support college students without U.S. citizenship.
Once applicants have a list of schools that interest them, they should review if and how those institutions discuss undocumented youth online, says Mizraim Belman Guerrero, an undocumented student at Georgetown University.
“Make sure that they have very inclusive language. One of the big things is to really not use the I-word, referring to anyone as illegal,” says Guerrero.
But students shouldn’t limit research to the internet.
“Contact the school. Don’t just read the website. Email them. Call them. Visit if it’s nearby,” says Kyeong Yun Jeong, a graduate from George Mason University in Virginia and a medical student at Georgetown, who is also undocumented. “Say that you are a Dreamer,” he says and advises asking if the school will still accept Dreamers.
[Understand how undocumented students can pay for college.]
Admissions officers are usually open to answering questions from all prospective students, regardless of citizenship.
“At the university level, students are always welcome to reach out to an admissions officer to speak confidentially about their questions related to the application,” Amy Jarich, the interim associate vice chancellor of admission and enrollment at University of California–Berkeley, said in an email.
While it’s easy to become confused or even frustrated while determining which institutions to apply to as an undocumented applicant, advocates for Dreamers encourage prospective students to keep striving for their education.
“Don’t lose hope,” says Jeong. “You never know what kind of opportunity will come your way.”
Searching for a college? Get our complete rankings of Best Colleges.
More from U.S. News
3 Questions to Ask About Campus Racial, Political Climate
Consider a College With a Focus on Minority Students
How Politics, Religion and Race Influence Campus Culture
Dreamers: Don?t Give Up on College originally appeared on usnews.com
