More Than an Education to Overcome
It seems that today’s college students just can’t win. After getting accepted to college, taking out loans to pay for it, and working hard to graduate, students are dissatisfied with the outcome.
However disenchanted students may feel, they are not alone. And for some recent graduates, graduating into the unknown is the minor problem. Some students are not only graduating into obscurity, but they’re also wondering if staying in America is feasible and if it’s even a possibility. Illegal immigrants graduating from colleges across the country are finding themselves in a whirlwind of the unknown.
Especially in this economy, feelings of doubt and despair are seemingly all that awaits students at the end of that stage. After all their sweat, blood, time and money, the majority of today’s graduates are finding themselves with little to show for their college education besides the mound of debt they’ve accrued. For illegal immigrant students, it’s worse. Their citizenship status seems to negate the education they have worked so hard for.
The NY Times reports that recent graduates from Queensborough Community College are finding themselves in more than just debt and frustration to find a job. They’re also wondering if they will ever find work or if they will even be able to stay in the United States.
Illegal immigrants are not uncommon at QCC, and President Eduardo Marti calls the campus “an academic Ellis Island.” Immigration status is not required for acceptance and the school is proud to have an open door policy.
It’s not just those who have come to the United States with a student visa, many were brought to America as children and educated in public school systems. A new bill, known as the Dream Act, would confer legal status upon those who were brought to America as children. The bill is currently stalled in Congress.
Regardless of immigration opinion, one has to feel at least a bit of compassion for these students. They have spent years in the United States public school system, have made their way through college, and are now faced with not only the doubt and hopelessness of other students, but also with immigration legality issues.
Finding a stable job in today’s economy is on the minds of many, but for these students staying and prospering in America is a worry unknown to most their age.
Maximino López, an illegal immigrant from Mexico and recent graduate from QCC concludes, “It’s not that it’s over for us. It’s just that our path is hard.”