Carolina Alumni Review - March/April 2008

Undocumented: Tiny Numbers, Huge Issue

When a Jordan-Matthews student raised his hand, he also raised one of the most contentious issues in the state today.

“If you’re undocumented and you want to apply to UNC, what should you do?” he asked when University officials visited the Siler City high school in November.

Chancellor James Moeser’s answer was immediate and emphatic. “You should apply,” he said. “If you get in, we’ll bend heaven and earth to find a way to help you.”

Since 2004, the 16-campus UNC System has allowed graduates of U.S. high schools who do not have citizenship or permanent residency papers to be considered for admission. System policy specifies that such students may not receive state or federal financial aid in the form of grants or loans, must be charged out-of-state tuition and must be included in the 18 percent cap on out-of-state freshmen. Campuses also must take into account federal prohibitions against granting professional licenses to undocumented aliens.

Possibly because of the higher tuition requirement and higher admissions standard — out-of-state admission is much more competitive than in-state — the number of undocumented students attending system schools is tiny. According to Moeser, “a handful, two, three, four” are

enrolled at Chapel Hill today. Here and elsewhere, the vast majority of undocumented students come from families without college experience.

In December, the UNC Tomorrow Commission set off a flurry of controversy when it recommended that the UNC System examine whether undocumented graduates of in-state high schools who qualify for admission to system campuses should be charged in-state tuition. Opponents argue that giving such students easier access to college would encourage illegal immigration and boost competition for limited seats and financial aid.

System President Erskine Bowles ’ 67 said in December that he finds the federal government’s approach to educating undocumented children “completely illogical.” Federal law mandates that states must provide them with a free K- 12 education but “takes a complete dive on whether we should offer these same children access to public higher education,” he said. He pointed out that Hispanics are the fastest-growing segment of North Carolina’s population and a large part of its future work force. By 2017, the UNC Tomorrow Commission reports, there will be 30,000 additional high school graduates in North Carolina, of whom 22,000 will be Hispanic.

“If they are not educated, we run the
risk of creating another permanent under-

class,” Bowles said. “Without education, they will become a drain on society. With education, they have a chance to be productive members of our communities.” He stressed that the UNC Tomorrow Commission recommended that the UNC System investigate the social, legal and economic issues connected with offering undocumented students in-state tuition.

“We will do this research,” he said. “Until that research is finished, we will not make any recommendation for or against this proposal.”

Moeser and Admissions Director Steve Farmer emphasize that UNC scrupulously follows state and federal law.

“But if we admit one of these [undoc-umented] students, we try to find private funds” for financial aid, Moeser said.

In 2005, the N.C. General Assembly considered but did not pass a new law that would have permitted certain undocumented students to pay in-state tuition. According to the College Board, 10 other states — Texas, California, New York, Utah, Illinois, Washington, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Kansas — charge in-state rates to undocumented students who meet certain conditions. Texas and Oklahoma allow those who qualify for in-state tuition to apply for state financial aid.

Since 2001, the U.S. Congress periodically has considered a proposed federal measure called the DREAM Act that

The Scholars’ Latino Initiative came about after Peter Kaufman heard a piece on public radio about high-achieving, driven students at Jordan-Matthews who had no chance to go to college.

“I’m coordinator of the Johnston Scholars’ Program here, and I live in North Chatham,” Kaufman said. “I have [under-graduate] students with the drive to give back and do public service. There was a reservoir of talent here.”

Kaufman and others approached admissions officials at UNC and other selective colleges, including Elon, Amherst and Smith, to find out what was keeping talented Latino and Latina high school students from meet-

ing their admissions standards. They were surprised to find these students’ lack of challenging courses, rather than their SAT scores and GPAs, was the first bar.

“Then it was public service,” Kaufman said. Because many of these students have work or family obligations, or both, and because Jordan-Matthews, unlike many high schools that send a lot of students to college, doesn’t require volunteer service, many of its seniors had none to show.

The students may face additional hurdles. One student’s parents don’t understand why she’d want to go to college when she’s just going to get married and raise a family, Kaufman said. Some parents