Applications for the California Dream Act—which allows eligible undocumented immigrant youth access to state financial aid for college—are down. "We're 20,000 students behind," said the California Student Aid Commission’s Lupita Cortez Alcalá. With a deadline about two weeks away, officials say applications are at one-half of what they were last year, and they’re pretty sure they know why:
College counselors and Cortez Alcalá cite immigrant families' increasing distrust of the government. Students are especially concerned about the fate of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, which hangs in the balance.
"There's rumors about ICE raids all the time — some unfounded and some maybe founded," said Jane Slater, a teacher at Sequoia High School in Redwood City, Calif., who also advises a club for students who are in the country without legal permission. "The headlines about immigration make people feel like they're really in the spotlight. Kids are more afraid for their families than they are for themselves.”
Officials noted a drop in applications last year, but “after weeks of advocacy and ‘cash for college’ events to spread the word, 36,127 applications came in — slightly more than the year before.” But even in a state as pro-immigrant as California—home to the largest population of DACA recipients in the nation—there is panic.
Sequoia High School senior Yohana Ramirez:
"Growing up, I knew I wasn't born here, but I didn't know what it means," she said. "I always assumed it was just a different point of origin — but I didn't think it would impact me in school."
When she heard President Trump speak about immigration and learned that DACA was in jeopardy, she said, "I was scared, I was panicking — about my family getting deported, with or without me…. I'm still kind of scared, but I'm just trying to keep my head up and keep pushing forward with my dreams, goals and aspirations."
Ramirez learned about the California scholarships at a summit for "Dreamers." Her mother was afraid of sending personal information to the government. But when Ramirez explained the program's benefits, she received her family's blessing to apply.
One school’s officials speculated applications may be down because counselors are simply overwhelmed by responsibilities. Perhaps, but with California police chiefs saying immigrants aren’t reporting when they’ve been victims of crime because they’re scared they’ll fall onto ICE’s radar, the fear is very real.
