by Maria F. Escobar
As a Colombian who came to the U.S. as a teenager, I was fortunate enough to quickly make six best friends at my new high school. Our group of seven friends, all Colombian, helped us all to navigate life in a new country. Our common roots growing up in a different culture and speaking a foreign language strengthened our bond.
After attending public high school, six members of our close-knit circle obtained permanent resident status and applied to and attended U.S colleges. Graduating with degrees in diverse fields from engineering and anthropology to economics and cinema, we had grown from our common immigrant roots to reach out and grab the American dream.
Unfortunately, one of us found a giant obstacle blocking her road to college and a brighter future. This obstacle was not poor grades, low SAT scores, or a lack of extracurricular activities to burnish her college application. Instead, my close friend's dream of higher education was slipping away because she was an undocumented immigrant. She arrived with her parents to the United States when she was 10 yeas old. Despite being a stellar student, whose academic achievements had earned her the nickname "Nerdusky," immigration status was standing between my friend and a college education.
On high school graduation day Nerdusky, one of the top students in our senior class, had to search for expensive and unaccredited alternatives to the colleges and universities who demanded proof of citizenship or residency in their applications. While my other friends and I chatted excitedly about the American college experience we would be enjoying after the summer months, Nerdusky had few prospects for affordable, quality higher education and the campus experience.
Fast-forward four years to a second graduation, this time from college, and six Colombian young adults are pursuing ample opportunities in their chosen career paths. While we are all exploring adulthood and building the life our parents brought us to America to achieve, Nerdusky is still being denied a higher education and the American dream the rest of us are enjoying. Nerdusky, a dedicated, bright, and promising student, is being trapped into a life of limited educational and economic opportunity - by no choice or fault of her own.
My friend Nerdusky's story is not unique; 65,000 thousand students who graduate from high school each year are not able to go to college because of immigration status. Fortunately, this denial of higher education can be ended with the passage of the DREAM Act. This legislation, which was just introduced in Congress, would allow Nerdusky and students like her to obtain their higher education and subsequently a path to U.S citizenship. The DREAM Act would give a shot at the American Dream to all students, regardless of immigration status, and allow the economy to benefit from the full potential of the nation’s youth.
During the 10th National Student Labor Week of Action hosted by the Student Labor Action Project, friends, family, neighbors, and classmates of many undocumented students will be taking action, calling their representatives and demanding the passage of the DREAM Act. We ask you to join us in this struggle against the denial of education to individuals who want to realize their own American dreams.
Take action and demand education be a right for all: www.unionvoice.org/campaign/dreamact09
Maria is the Coordinator for the Student Labor Action Project. Learn more at www.studentlabor.org