Immigrant Student Rights

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When we say that all students deserve a quality education and access to higher education, we mean ALL students, regardless of immigration status. Every year, at least 65,000 undocumented youth, including valedictorians, high-achieving students and exceptional community leaders graduate from high school without the opportunity to attend a higher education institution.

IN-STATE TUITION FOR UNDOCUMENTED STUDENTS

Most states do not have legislation that allows undocumented students to pay in-state tuition - Colorado is one of these states. Furthermore, undocumented students do not qualify for federal grants, financial aid, nor most scholarships.  Thus, undocumented students are at a grave disadvantage, forced to pay out-of-state tuition (which at many state schools can be 3-5 times higher) with no help. Their chances of continuing their education are slim to none.

THE DREAM ACT

While in-state tuition is a small step forward for our immigrant youth and helps close the educational attainment gap in our country, it is not the solution. Undocumented students who do make it through college and successfully graduate cannot exercise their degrees as professionals because of their legal status.

So, while educational attainment is one piece of the fight, finding a path to permanent legalization is an even bigger fight - the DREAM Act provides this path to legalization.

The DREAM Act is a federal piece of legislation that if passed, would provide a path to legalization to those who: 1) entered the US before the age of 16; 2) graduate from high school or receieve a GED; 3) have a clean criminal record; 4) have been in the US for at least 5 continuous years; and 5) go to college or enter the militarity for at least two years.

Padres & Jovenes Unidos, along with many other organizations across the country, have been fighting for the DREAM Act since 2001.

The benefits of the DREAM Act are irrefutable, with over 40 sponsors from legislators on both sides of the aisle, economists, and policy analysts advocating for its passage. As a country, we are wasting valuable and needed skills and talent that our economy needs. The case for approving the the DREAM Act is clear and just - our undocumented youth deserve an education and need a path to legalization.

COMPREHENSIVE  IMMIGRATION REFORM

While the DREAM Act is a good step forward in bringing justice to immigrant youth, it does not benefit our mothers, fathers, families and compañeros in the communty who are also hurting. Thus, we must also fight for comprehensive immigration reform for our families and loved ones who need a real path to legalization, dignity and justice.

END UNJUST ENFORCEMENT AND DEPORTATIONS

Although while campaigning in 2008, then-candidate Obama promised we'd see action within his first year in office, we have seen the opposite. Under Obama's leadership we have seen heightened border security, an increase in the criminalization of immigrants and a huge spike in deportations (a record 400,000 people per year have been deported since Obama's election). Just in the last year, we've seen a wave of punitive, racist anti-immigrant laws introduced or passed in states across the country. Our communities are being terrorized, families are being separated and students are seeing their dreams deferred.

These current conditions have forced us to place our energies in defending our communities against the countless racist attacks at the local and state level, such as Secure Communities. At the same time we continue to organize for in-state tuition for undocumented students, the DREAM Act and Comprehensive Immigration Reform, we are also fighting the deportation of members of our community and demanding President Obama use his executive powers to halt all deportations of DREAMers and hard-working, innocent people.

THE LINK BETWEEN IMMIGRANT STUDENT RIGHTS AND THE SCHOOL TO JAIL TRACK

Each year, nearly 10,000 students are referred to the police by their schools. The majority of these referrals are for minor dicipline incidents that do not threaten school safety. The criminalization that is happening in our schools has many detrimental consequences for our community, however, the stakes are even higher for undocumented youth. For them, a ticket given in school has the potential to lead to deportation.

WHO'S MAKING THE MONEY?

The private prison industry is a lucrative business that is profiting millions from incarcerating people and detaining immigrants. For example, Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) and the Geo Group (Geo) are the forces behind lobbying efforts to increase penalties and push for harsher immigration policies, such as Arizona's SB 1070, that lead to higher incarceration and detention rates at the federal and state levels. Through contracts between the U.S Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) and private prisons, millions of dollars are being made on the backs of our immigrant community. Click here to see a video of how this works. Padres & Jovenes Unidos is organizing to demand an end to the profiteering of "selling immigrants" by holding major CCA and Geo shareholders, like Wells Fargo, accoountable for their harmful investments that is destroying our communtiy and tearing families apart.

WASHINGTON, IT'S TIME!

As a movement, we must continue to stand in solidarity with one another and organize for the right to college for our immigrant youth and legalization for our families. Washington, it's time to build up the courage and the will to do the right thing.

To get involved with our Immigrant Student Rights campaign, contact Leidy Robledo at (303) 458-6545 or leidy@padresunidos.org.