By Sanober Sajan
Recently I sat down with a good friend of mine and asked her how being an undocumented student has affected her. She said that “it was like a thing I needed to overcome; something you realize you have to get used to, and something that makes you work harder for what you believe in.” I asked this young Muslim why she thinks these issues are not talked about in our community. What she had to say made me realize how many privileges I have as a U.S. citizen that I take for granted everyday. She said that within the Muslim community talking about being undocumented is “like telling everyone what you DON’T have. Why you can’t possibly have the things they take for granted and things that are part of growing up in American culture. Like a job or an ID or a driver’s license or a social security number for your college apps; things that are normal and taken for granted to everyone else. It’s like a “look-at-me-i’m-the-black-
sheep-i-know-i-will-get-left-behind-in-many-of-the-things-you-will-do” kind of thing.” For the hundreds for undocumented Muslim students in the U.S. the challenges and stigmas that come with being undocumented are a reality they have no choice but to face everyday.
In October of 2007 the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, better known as the Federal DREAM Act, failed to pass in the Senate by a margin of less than 10 votes. Earlier this year a state version of the bill known as the California DREAM Act was vetoed for the third time by Governor Schwarzenegger in early October. If passed, the bill would allow undocumented students access to apply and compete for institutional aid administered at UC, CSU, and California Community Colleges . Currently, due to Assembly Bill 540, undocumented students who meet certain requirements are exempt from paying out of state tuition rates. These students may qualify for in-state tuition at the UC, CSU, and California Community Colleges, if they meet all of the following requirements: 1) Attend high school in California for three or more years, 2) Graduate from a California high school or pass the GED; and 3) If undocumented, file an affidavit with the college or university stating that they have applied for a lawful immigration status or will apply as soon as they are eligible to do so. According to the University of California Office of the President’s 2007 AB540 report, this “includes students who are precluded from establishing California residency because they lack documentation permitting their legal presence in the country, but it also includes documented students who do not qualify for California residency.” In fact, the bulk of AB 540 students in the UC system, according to the 2007 UCOP report, are not undocumented students but permanent residents or citizens of the United States . However, for the thousands of students who “through no fault of their own”are undocumented students, the already enormous barriers on the road to higher education become almost insurmountable.
At a time when college tuition continues to increase at an alarming rate (over 100% in the last five years at UC campuses), the challenges that students face are overwhelming. Documented and undocumented students alike face huge burdens in terms of paying off college loans or even finding jobs during one of the biggest economic crises this country had faced since the Great Depression. But for undocumented students this burden is two fold. Under the current Return to Aid policy of the UC system (with similar policies at CSUs and CCC), 33% of tuition that all students pay goes back to financial aid . Although undocumented students contribute to this aid, they cannot access that aid. If passed, the DREAM Act would allow these students to compete for this aid as well as other state grants and fee waivers. But in a time when state funding to education is being cut, student fees are on the rise, and the average student graduates with $20,000 in debt, is it prudent to increase the pool of students who could receive financial aid? The Governor of California and other state and federal leaders seem to think so.
For some people, the DREAM Act sends the message that coming to the U.S. illegally is okay. In fact in 2007 when the federal DREAM Act was under consideration in the House and the Senate the Bush administration issued the following statement: “The primary change wrought by S. 2205 would be to establish a preferential path to citizenship for a special class of illegal aliens. Specifically, S. 2205 awards permanent status to any illegal alien who is under 30, has been in the United States for five years after arriving as a child, and has completed two years of college or in the uniformed services. This path to citizenship is unavailable to any other alien, no matter how much promise he or she may have, no matter how much he or she may contribute to American society.” The Bush Administration as well as many political leaders believe that the passage of the DREAM Act would encourage illegal immigration to the U.S. and thus create an unnecessary burden on tax payers (through public social services, etc.). However, what many of these people fail to realize is that most illegal immigrants do pay state and federal taxes through the use of tax ID numbers.1 Their children– most of which came here between the ages of 1-4 and thus are Americans that were raised in the U.S.”cannot reap the benefits of their parents hard earned taxes. In addition, with 65,000 undocumented students graduating from high schools in the U.S. each year, current policies are creating a generation of workers that cannot legally even get a minimum wage job at McDonalds . With a generation of people living below the poverty line that have no path towards legalization, the burden on taxpayers becomes tremendous.
One of the most vital aspects of the original version of the DREAM Act would give these students a legal path to residency and thus alleviate the burden of a generation of workers living at or below the poverty line . But the benefits of passing this act do not stop there. The passage of this bill would actually encourage the 65,000 undocumented students who graduate from high schools in the U.S. each year to actually pursue higher education because it creates a path towards legal residency for them. This would in turn benefit the nation as a whole by creating a generation of well educated teachers, doctors, lawyers, engineers, etc. Thus, comparing the cost-benefit analysis, the logic is clear. The passage of the DREAM Act would benefit the majority Americans and not passing the DREAM Act is bad for the economy. For Muslims in the United States, the benefits go beyond this.
A common misconception among many American Muslims is that the issues of immigration and legalization do not affect the Muslim community. However, with the passage of the Patriot Act shortly after the horrible events of September 11th 2001, the barriers towards legalization for Muslims in the U.S. have increased. For the many Muslims that came to the U.S. in hopes of a better future for themselves and their children, getting permanent residency is becoming increasingly difficult. Such policies are affecting the significant amount of undocumented Muslim youth in this country. Many of these young people were brought to the U.S. as young children and thus did not have a choice in the matter. Being raised in the U.S., these young people see them selves as American Muslims. They want to contribute to this country. As one young undocumented Muslim put it, “I think my life and that of my community will be better if I am able to stay and further myself here.” At its undisputed core, Islam encourages its followers to educate themselves and use their education to contribute to the society in which they live. As one great Muslim leader put it, “it is not what you have accomplished that is of value, but what you have helped others to accomplish.” But for the many undocumented American Muslims that have no path towards legal residency, their ability to contribute to the society in which they live is highly limited. After all, how much can one contribute towards society if one is working full time 7-days a week and is still below the poverty line? ¢
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