The high cost of college tuition is a problem for students across this country, regardless of immigration status. While it may be “a barrier” for all students then, an event at the University of Missouri focused on the status of undocumented students, as Missourian reported.
Under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), undocumented students can apply to public universities and community college. Those who have been brought into the United States before the age of 16, were under 31 as of June 15, 2012, and who meet other criteria can apply for deferment of removal and remain in the United States.
They can’t apply to student loans, Pell Grants or institutional scholarships, however.
Vanessa Crawford Aragón, executive director of Missouri Immigrant and Refugee Advocates, used the panel event to speak out against what she feels is discrimination toward students:
Missouri also charges undocumented students the same tuition as international students, which has prompted many to move to Kansas, which “is actively recruiting because they say, ‘Missouri doesn’t want them, but we do,'” Aragón said. Kansas State is “aggressively recruiting undocumented students,” reported KCRU last month.
The group has repeatedly criticized “anti-student discrimination” in the state budget.
The tuition rate, however, is set by the state, not immigration advocates such as Aragón.
The state should invest more in undocumented speakers, Lindsey Saunders of the MU Cambio Center noted, which sponsored the event with the MU chapter of the American Constitution Society and Tigers Advancing Political Participation. “Sanders said she hoped the event would foster empathy for undocumented students and raise awareness about their exploitation,” Missourian noted.
Undocumented students are more likely to come from families in poverty, and have been dissuaded from attending college due to the financial barrier, Aragón said. Such a concern is not unique to undocumented students, but also affect American citizens who cannot afford to attend college.
