“Undocumented, unafraid” and unwelcome today at Georgia’s premier campuses
High school students staged a mock graduation at the UGA arch Tuesday to protest state policy toward students who are here illegally. (AJC file)
High school students staged a mock graduation today at the University of Georgia arch to protest the state policy’s of documenting citizenship of students. Chanting “undocumented, unafraid,” the students expressed dismay at the policy, which they said will lock them out of UGA and other prestigious campuses.
Illegal immigration became a volatile issue in Georgia after it was discovered that Kennesaw State University charged an illegal immigrant in-state tuition in violation of state law. Now, illegal immigrants are barred from any University System of Georgia campus that turned away academically qualified students for the past two years. (The impacted campuses are UGA, Georgia Tech, Georgia State University, Georgia College & State University and the Medical College of Georgia.)
The State Board of Regents adopted the policy last fall after months of angry debate and legislative posturing over assertions that these students stole spots from those legally here. While officials said campuses are not overwhelmed by thousands of illegal immigrants, the regents adopted the policy to placate legislators and reassure taxpayers that illegal students weren’t taking spots. Those students may attend the system’s other 30 colleges, but must pay out-of-state tuition, which is about three times as expensive.
The AJC reported last week that only one out of the more than 10,000 students granted preliminary acceptance to those five coveted campuses was barred from enrolling because the student is an illegal immigrant. It’s not clear whether illegal immigrants aren’t applying because of the new policy or whether they weren’t attending in the first place.
But the policy has sparked frustration and disappointment in students who have lived in this country most of their lives, but whose parents are not legal citizens. And what’s led to the protest Tuesday in Athens.
According to an account of the protest by the Associated Press:
About 25 young people, most wearing graduation caps and gowns, paraded across a busy intersection in Athens Tuesday and onto the University of Georgia campus to protest a new university system policy on the admission of illegal immigrants.
Several dozen supporters chanted and cheered as the protesters, many of them high school students, walked through the arch onto the university’s main quad, receiving fake diplomas in a mock graduation. Addressing their supporters and the media, a number of them publicly declared their illegal status.
“I want the education after high school because I don’t want to end up a deadbeat,” said 15-year-old Alejandro Galeana. “They’re taking away the education that we have a right to.”
The sophomore at Cedar Shoals High School in Athens was brought to the U.S. from Mexico when he was 2. He doesn’t think it’s fair that if he works hard enough to get the grades to qualify to go to one of the state’s top schools that he should be denied admission because of his immigration status.
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
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218 comments Add your comment
thomas
August 25th, 2011
4:20 pm
@ reality check,
Why do you want to accept foreign nationals (legal or illegal) into US military services? Would you want the services to accept a muslim of Middle Eastern origin? How come it is ok for the US military services not to require a proof of citizenship but not ok for a state university? Why not firefighters? Police? Doctors? Engineers?
Reality Check
August 25th, 2011
4:25 pm
@Thomas,
You make good points; maybe it is a bad idea. I think our current immigration policy does give favoritism to educated professionals such as doctors and engineers. I really do not like making exceptions and would prefer all citizenship seekers get in the legal line and wait their turns. It was just a thought in trying to find some common ground, but probably not a very good one.
proud liberal
August 25th, 2011
5:03 pm
@ Reality,
Your notion of “fairness” is what 4-year olds have – everyone must receive the same. Our society is not built on such a notion. We give “favoritism” all the time – sometimes we write laws favoring some groups over the other – like heterosexuals by defining “marriage” as one man and one woman.
I, however, do believe that policies (and laws) should be made with much more practical and pragmatic concerns. Those students who the Dream Act would affect are more likely to make positive contributions to our society than many of our citizens. Why not give them the legal status? I don’t remember every singling out “Hispanic,” as you did, but I also think many of these “illegals” are hard working people – unlike some of our welfare dependent citizens. You seem to think only “lazy” people like those welfare-dependent US citizens will come to this country if we let them freely come to the US. If they are lazy, why would they even bother coming to the US? For free health care? Why would they worry about it if they aren’t sick right now? Just because they come from the third world countries doesn’t mean they are willing to work hard. Why should we keep them in the situation where some business owners can abuse them? Let the business owners pay the same wages/taxes. Let them pick the ones who work hard and benefit their businesses – not based on citizenships.
Reality Check
August 25th, 2011
5:04 pm
@Thomas,
I just checked to make sure, and one of the paths to citizenship outlined in the Dream Act is two years of military service. Are you in support of the Dream Act?
Reality Check
August 25th, 2011
5:14 pm
@proud liberal,
Name-calling is the venue of 4 year olds; I am in the demographic group who decides elections. I belong to neither party, have voted for both in the past, consider myself to be an independent, and try to look at issues fairly. This group in the middle often casts the deciding votes in a close election. If you care about this issue, you should not insult the folks in the middle; we are the only ones willing to have a discussion. The other two groups have already made up their minds, pro and con.
What percentage of the Dream Act would apply to non-Hispanics?
ex aps teacher
August 25th, 2011
5:14 pm
I can understand the the anger against illegal immigration given the poor economy.
However these angry people have to come to grips with the tectonic shift that is taking place in this country. Unless our education system is fixed soon….we will become the third world.
It wont be because those illegals got our jobs and bankrupted our economy.
It will be because we as a country have lost the competitive edge and this country will become a country of the super rich and the poor with no middle class.
Already we are seeing the trend of American teachers going abroad for jobs…what profession is next for us to go to another country to put food on the table??
The conservative right can blame the illegals all they want..but that will not solve the problem
Reality Check
August 25th, 2011
5:20 pm
@proud liberal,
If employers were forced pay all workers the same, the incentive to hire illegals would be gone. We do not have enough jobs for our citizens who work in construction; there is no labor shortage in that industry.
Are you not aware that many illegals benefit from social services that are not available in their home countries because of the cost? Some examples would be schools, food stamps, subsidized housing, health care and welfare. We cannot afford an unlimited number of illegals using these services. Why do you think they come here in the first place?
Legal Taxpayer
August 25th, 2011
5:55 pm
Yes, people we have a problem. The problem STARTS when we meet them at the county line offering them welfare, medicaid and food stamps. Then we are FORCED by law to admit them into our school systems even though they do not have a social security number. How many of you know that it is “illegal” to turn a child away from public education even if they do not have a social security number and can’t speak a word of English?!?! Then we give them FREE lunch and hire teachers to teach them our American language! Where else in the world could you go and the COUNTRY conform to the fact that you do not speak their language? In my opinion, we shouldnt allow them to ENTER our education system if they do not have a social security number. They have overcrowded our education system and drained our healthcare. Send them back to Mexico, Puerto Rico or where ever else they came from. THE AMERICAN TAXPAYERS SHOULD NOT BE FOOTING THE BILL FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS! Period! Yes, some of the males have jobs, while their “wives” stay home as baby factories and they send MOST of their money back to their homeland. Do away with the “anchor baby” laws. If you are not born to a LEGAL United States citizen, then you too are an ILLEGAL. We have ways that they can come here legally — they just chose to do it their way. Now lets do it right and send them ALL back and if they want to become an American citizen, then let them go through the correct channels.
proud liberal
August 25th, 2011
9:19 pm
@ Reality,
I have no problem providing education to children of illegal for a pragmatic reason – uneducated children of illegal will further burden our systems. We already have enough of native bums who have become huge burdens for the society.
What I don’t understand is how they end up getting things such as food stamps and housing subsidies. It seems like we should be requesting our municipal and state government to check the eligibility of those who apply for those benefits instead of asking colleges and universities. Perhaps if they are getting paid fair wages, then they might not have to depend on those welfare programs. I know some LEGAL immigrants who cannot get these benefits because they don’t qualify.
You keep bringing up construction workers, but the starting point of this discussion is about those college students who have otherwise qualified to be admitted to these prestigious institutions. I doubt many of the would end up being construction workers. Their parents may have been, but not most of these students.
As for the “middle” group (politically), it can be argued that THEY are the ones that led this country into the mess because they don’t stick with one or the other. Maybe they had stuck with the Republicans, we would have been in a better position. OR, we would have been in a much worse situation so that we know for sure that the Republicans are just a bunch of wackos. We keep going back and forth, wandering aimlessly while those who have the means continue to enrich themselves.
Teacher
August 25th, 2011
11:08 pm
What a passionate issue.
William Aldridge
August 26th, 2011
8:52 am
This law is in no way a race issue. It applies to any illegal alien regardless of where he or she is from. There are illegal alliens here from all over the world (they are brown, yellow and WHITE). And I suspect they come for a varity of reasons however the one thing that they all have in common is that they are here ILLEGALLY!
It is illegal for an illegal alien to work in the US. Why would any Georgia tax payer want to invest in an education for an illegal alien who, after graduation for a Georgia college, could not work inthe US?
We would be better served by investing in our own sons and daughters and returning the illegals to their home countries.
UGA class of 1973/1983
Simone
August 26th, 2011
8:32 pm
I agree with what Georgia has done, now if only California would follow it’s lead. If you’re here illegally, I have no sympathy for you what so ever. We have enough “legal” citizens to take of.
Ronin
August 27th, 2011
10:13 am
@Proud Lib, Try as you may, you just don’t get it. You honor those who have broken the law in coming here and in the same breath say that the people who have become slaves to the government welfare system (which the Democratic party fully supports) won’t do the jobs. In essence, you’re talking out of both sides of your mouth.
Reality makes a point that most conservative and liberals who are entrenched in their ideology they want what their group wants. Independents review the information and decide Democrat or Republican, which is the best. So, in close elections, Reality is right on the money, Independents are the King or Queen makers.
Remove the government incentives for all education and aid for illegal aliens and the problem will can be resolved. Otherwise, just open the border to everyone, coming and going, and all those in need will arrive. You can have a full time job taking care of them. I’ll take what I have and start over in another country.
johndoemo
August 27th, 2011
2:57 pm
I am extremely pleased that our lawmakers have barred illegals from our colleges. Now it’s time that they enact a law to bar them from elementary and high schools.
FYI
August 27th, 2011
8:12 pm
@ Johndoemo. Read the news story on top of this blog. They’re only barred from UGA, Georgia Tech, Georgia State University, Georgia College & State University and the Medical College of Georgia. They can attend any of the other USG schools if they pay out-of-state tuition.
Felicity
August 28th, 2011
5:48 pm
Of course these high school students have the right to attend ANY college to which they apply and are accepted to. Why GA TECH has a very high admiision rate of non-GA and non-American students. It and Emory are probably the most diverse campuses in GA. If the student graduates from an accredited high school, legal status should not be an issue. I fully support a change in this policy. These good ‘ole boys are not the brightest and are really posturing…as their kids wouldn’t make the grade to attend a competitive college anyway.
maconsense
August 29th, 2011
12:30 pm
So, What would happen to me if I went to Mexico and tried the same thing?
– The Mexican government will bar foreigners if they upset “the equilibrium of the national demographics.” How’s that for racial and ethnic profiling?
– If outsiders do not enhance the country’s “economic or national interests” or are “not found to be physically or mentally healthy,” they are not welcome. Neither are those who show “contempt against national sovereignty or security.” They must not be economic burdens on society and must have clean criminal histories. Those seeking to obtain Mexican citizenship must show a birth certificate, provide a bank statement proving economic independence, pass an exam and prove they can provide their own health care.
– Illegal entry into the country is equivalent to a felony punishable by two years’ imprisonment. Document fraud is subject to fine and imprisonment; so is alien marriage fraud. Evading deportation is a serious crime; illegal re-entry after deportation is punishable by ten years’ imprisonment.
Reality Check
August 29th, 2011
4:53 pm
maconsense,
Very interesting!!