A standing-room only crowd filled Remy’s Place on Temple Art Gallery on August 10 for a special book party in conjunction with the Smithsonian/University of Hawai‘i exhibition, “Singglalot: The Ties That Bind,” on the history of the Filipino immigration to the U.S. that in closes in October. The book, Underground Undergrads: UCLA Undocumented Students Speak Out, profiles eight UCLA students, half of whom are Asian American, who described the plight of undocumented college students brought to the U.S. as children and the struggle to complete their college degrees. These students are ineligible to legally work or obtain a driver’s license and are excluded from many other rights afforded to their classmates. They are considered “out-of-status” and disqualified from obtaining federal financial aid. They struggle to stay in school by taking jobs that pay them “under the table,” living with family far from campus and commuting long distances on public transportation and withdrawing when funds are low.
The Honorable Mike Eng (49th Assembly District) opened the program by commending Remy’s founder Joselyn Geaga-Rosenthal and UCLA Labor Center Director Kent Wong for co-sponsoring the event to break the Asian American community’s silence about undocumented students and family. He also applauded the bravery of the UCLA students who are lobbying the California and federal Dream Acts that would respectively provide government financial aid and a path to citizenship.
Four of those students, some recent graduates (Filipino, Vietnamese, and South Asian) told their personal stories to the rapt audience. Tam Tran spoke of her parents’ journey from Vietnam as boat people to Germany, where she and her brother were born. Her family moved to the U.S. but because her father lost his work permit, the government sought to deport her family. Because Germany does not grant citizenship at birth, Tam and her brother are state-less, neither citizens of the U.S., nor Germany nor Vietnam, a country she has never visited. She is in a permanent state of limbo, unable to legally claim any country as her own. Tam told the audience, “Forty percent of undocumented students at UC campuses are Asian. But you would never know it because of the stigma about something which is not our fault.”
Angelo Mathay’s mother brought him to the U.S. from the Philippines at age six, presumably for a vacation. He was surprised to learn that she didn’t intend to return in order to escape the tsismis (gossip) that resulted from Angelo’s out-of-wedlock birth. Years later, Angelo was unable to return to the Philippines even for his father’s funeral because the U.S. would not re-admitted him. He told the audience, “Filipinos believe tago ng tago (hide and hide) our status, but we have to come out of the shadows if we want to change immigration policy.”
Zeenat Bhamani, a Pakistani undergraduate, spoke of her family and the larger South Asian community’s feelings of shame about being undocumented. She said, “Especially in a post-9/11 world, we have to claim our full identities if we want equal treatment and an end to discrimination.”
Stephanie Solis did not learn she was undocumented until she was 18 when she announced to her parents that it was time to apply for a driver’s license, passport and college. They finally disclosed to her that, because of her status, she was not entitled to many of these rights. She admitted, “Yes, it is scary to stand at press conferences, or hearings, or speaking engagements and be identified as undocumented, but it would be much more scary if we didn’t speak out.”
For more information: visit studentgroups.ucla.edu/idea/aboutus.html
Talk about an outrage to citizens! For most teenagers, going to college is part of the American dream. But the cost of fulfilling that dream has become a source of controversy, as illegal immigrants sometimes pay less than U.S. citizens to attend the same college. To me this is disgusting as it gives, illegal foreign nationals rights that should go directly to a citizen child?
It’s discrimination if states offer a cheaper public college education to illegal immigrants, and some out-of-state American students are suing in federal and state courts.
The federal Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 prohibits public colleges from favoring undocumented students by offering them in-state tuition rates and not extending that offer to U.S. citizens. Its an absolute intentional violation of immigration laws and those involved, should be held accountable.
Join and Fax for free http://www.numbersusa.com, http://www.capsweb.org to fight a future AMNESTY, A PATH TO CITIZENSHIP & ABOVE ALL ELSE OVERPOPULATION, WITHIN TWENTY YEARS.
Despite the obstacles, these students are still able to graduate. Of course, this means that these obstacles will continue to be in place until something is done about them. In the meantime, continued strength and solidarity.
To the first poster:
Just because some states allow undocumented students to pay in-state tuition, it’s not like they’re favoring illegals over citizens. You’re only allowed to pay in-state tuition if you’ve lived in the state for about three years or more. And because undocumented students aren’t eligible for federal student financial aid or private loans, the price for universities are still much to high for most. That’s why you despite in-state tuition, you don’t see an “invasion” of illegals going into college. Most undocumented students I know are incredibly accomplished and intelligent, having taken tons of AP classes in high school and some even being valedictorians, but most, if not all, have to pay for college all out of their own pockets.
They aren’t being given any special preferencial treatment at all, they’re only being given a chance to strive for a higher education. And you should never punish a child for the mistakes of its parents.
Don, undocumented students are not being “punished for the mistakes of their parents.” They are not legally entitled to live and study in the United States, thus they are outlaws. It’s really that painfully simple. They have only their parents to blame for the fact that they’re compelled to live in the shadows of this society. And if they’re so passionate about learning and committed to contributing to society, they’re desperately needed in their homelands. Unfortunately the U.S. cannot absorb all those who want to live within its borders. I respect those who immigrate here legally, apply for and ultimately obtain citizenship. It’s a long and frequently arduous process, but it can be done. Illegal immigrants blithely disobey this nation’s laws and then cry foul when they face deportation. What’s wrong with this picture?