Download a PDF of the story as it appeared in print
in The Nevada Sagebrush.

By Jessica Fryman

Editor’s note: As a precaution, Jose and his friend Kyle will remain anonymous for this article. Both are University of Nevada, Reno students. Jose’s true name is being withheld. Kyle’s last name is omitted.

Jose knows life in Mexico only from the stories his parents tell him. Mostly he remembers hearing about how his dad never went to school and sometimes didn’t have enough to eat growing up.

Because of those struggles, Jose’s dad moved the family to America in 1994, where an education and a better life were possible.

Now a business major at the University of Nevada, Reno, the undocumented 19-year-old is fulfilling what his parents brought him here to do. And although he faces chances of prison time and deportation, Jose isn’t scared because life in America is all he knows.

“I am the same as everyone else,” Jose said. “I don’t live in the shadows. I’ve lived here for so long — the fact that I am here illegally doesn’t even go through my mind.”

When he was 4 years old, Jose slept in the backseat of the car while he, his two younger siblings and mother were smuggled into the United States. His father was already illegally in California when the rest of the family crossed into the United States to join him.

Jose and his family are not alone.

About 13 million illegal immigrants live in the United States, according to the Federation for American Immigration Reform.

Every year, about 65,000 undocumented students graduate from high school and only about 10 percent go to college, according to the Immigration Policy Center.

Jose is one of those few attending American universities, despite the risk of being discovered and not qualifying for financial aid.

Education

Jose started learning English when he was five years old and quickly graduated from the English as a Second Language program about three years later.

He continued his education in California, earning about a 3.5 GPA throughout school.

Jose will never forget when he won the American Legion award in the eighth grade for showing courage, leadership and patriotism. He said one of his classmates teased about losing the award to Jose, who wasn’t even an American citizen.

At school, his peers surrounded him with American culture. Like many kids, he played baseball, basketball and football in high school and enjoyed hanging out with friends.

“I can probably speak English better (than Spanish) now and I know more American (than Mexican) history,” Jose said.

At home, his parents immersed him in his Mexican roots. He watches Spanish television and eats Mexican food. His family used to celebrate Mexican holidays, but now practices American traditions, like Thanksgiving, too.

Whether at school or home, Jose learned the value of education.

After graduating from high school in 2006, Jose tried to join the Marines, but he said he was rejected because he didn’t have a Social Security number.

“I wanted to do something for this country, put my part in, since I have been living here,” he said.

Disappointed, he applied for a few colleges and decided to attend UNR, which doesn’t require a Social Security number to apply.

“I want to get ahead in life,” said Jose, who is the first person in his family to go to college.

Now a sophomore in college, Jose is already working toward a business career. Last month, he used his tax identification number to get his business license.

He buys products like energy drinks and nutrition bars from an online marketing company and gets paid to endorse the products by telling other people about them. Then he sells the products for his profit.

He said he hopes the experience and the business degree he’s working toward will help him develop his online business into something bigger for the future.

“I’ve seen his work ability and it’s nothing different from a citizen,” said Kyle, who has known Jose for eight years. “He’s trying to contribute to the economy by going to school and getting a good job. He’s not just sitting around using what America has to offer.”

Unlike Jose, many undocumented students are unsure of what will happen next, according to UNR faculty who work with undocumented students. Many don’t apply for college — some fear exposing their families or can’t afford tuition.

According to the Immigration Policy Center, about 10 percent of undocumented students go to college. About 65 percent of U.S.-born high school graduates went to college last year, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

The Nevada System of Higher Education estimates about 447 undocumented Nevada high school graduates attend college, but they don’t know how many total undocumented students graduate from Nevada high schools.

All estimates are guesses because there are not efficient ways to track undocumented people, Jane Nichols, vice chancellor for NSHE, said.

“Universities just don’t have any way to know,” Nichols said. “We just don’t ask.”

UNR does not check whether prospective students are citizens of the United States and doesn’t require Social Security numbers on applications because of privacy issues, the admissions office said. The university accepts students based on their applications.

“If you meet the criteria, you meet the criteria,” Steve Maples, director of admissions, said. “I just want as many qualified people to come here as possible.”

If UNR were to find out about undocumented students, it would not report them because students’ information is protected through privacy laws, according to the admissions office.

However, all illegal immigrants are subject to deportation, regardless if they are students, said Lori Haley, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“Our role is to ensure that people in this country are here legally and that our country is safe,” she said.

Financial aid

Jose learned being accepted to college wasn’t going to be as easy as just going to school, he had to decide how to pay for it too.

When he was filling out his Free Application for Federal Student Aid, he stopped when his eyes scanned to the fourth question.

It required a Social Security number, something he didn’t have.

Without a Social Security number or student visa, Jose is ineligible for federal scholarships, grants and loans.

So instead of upgrading their two 14-year-old cars or moving out of their apartment and into a house, Jose’s parents pay all his tuition while supporting their three other children.

“It sucks to know they could get farther ahead in life if it wasn’t for this burden (of) paying for my school,” he said.

To help pay for his living expenses, Jose occasionally sells beef jerky for untaxed cash in California. He resorted to buying a fake Social Security card in November so he could get a job in Reno too.

Although situations vary, it takes most undocumented people between seven and 10 years to gain legal status, said Marie Sebrechts, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Jose’s parents have been trying to get citizenship for their family for a few years. He said the process is long and expensive. His mom has stopped putting in as much effort toward the process.

Jose plans to apply for citizenship after he starts his career. Although they are not citizens, Jose and his parents pay taxes. He said both of his parents also have fake Social Security cards so they can work.

Jose knows to be careful because one of his family members was caught using a fake Social Security number when he applied for a passport. He was deported after spending a year-and-a-half in a California federal prison.

Jose knows most businesses don’t check the numbers, but universities do when giving federal financial aid. He also knows not to carry his Social Security card with him because he’d receive a felony if he were caught.

“I see my friends and they don’t really have to worry about this stuff. They can get loans and scholarships,”he said. “I am happy for them that they don’t have to go through the burden that I have to go through”

Most private scholarships require an application to the FAFSA, which requires a Social Security number.

“I would never recommend undocumented students to apply (and accept federal) financial aid because it is a criminal offense and it would place them in a worse position in the long run,”said Daniel Perez, an assistant professor of Chicano and Latino Studies at UNR. “It would lead to major issues when they apply for citizenship. It could ruin all their chances.”

Perez is also working with the National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies, which is in the process of establishing a scholarship fund for undocumented students who have graduated from high school and are pursuing a college degree. The organization is one of few across the United States that will give or gives financial aid to undocumented students.

Araceli Martinez, program coordinator for the Center for Student Cultural Diversity, came to the United States illegally when she was six years old. Although Martinez became a citizen before college, some illegal immigrants who attend UNR confide in her, so she understands their struggles.

“They try to balance expenses with school and helping their family,” she said. “It’s not as easy for them to go to college and do well.”

More closed doors

Jose knows he’ll start a career once he has his business degree, despite challenges many undocumented people face in finding jobs. He said he knows people that will help him get through policies if problems happen when applying for jobs.

But for many students without legal status, getting a degree is a challenge. Many majors, like education, require internships, which require background checks and a Social Security number.

Perez said he knows students who base their career choices around a field they can earn a degree without legal status.

He said he’s talked to students who question whether they should go to school at all if they won’t be able to find a job after graduation.

“My advice to them is to always stay in school,” he said. “A degree is something no one can take away from you. Get as much education as possible because it helps build a case (to get citizenship) later.”

Once pursuing a degree, some students face worries about being discovered and deported.

Some UNR students told Perez they feared going to class or leaving their homes, especially when they hear about immigration raids, like the McDonald’s raids that captured local and national headlines last year.

Other undocumented students declined interviews from The Nevada Sagebrush in fear of being exposed.

“It’s a tragic situation,” Perez said. “Seeing them struggle and suffer and not having the same opportunities to pursue their dreams, there is something wrong about the way we are treating them.”

Perez said most of these students didn’t choose to come to the United States, so the barriers they face in getting an education are unfair.

About 2 million undocumented people under the age of 18 live in the United States, according to the Pew Hispanic Center.

The DREAM Act, legislation that has been discussed in Congress for about seven years, would give illegal immigrants under 16 years old a path toward citizenship. They would be granted six years of legal residency if they graduate from a two-year college, complete two years toward a four-year degree or serve in the military for at least two years.

Jose is not hopeful the DREAM Act will pass because it has already been in Congress for so long.

For now, he plans to continue living in the United States illegally until he can get citizenship.

“I was raised here,” he said. “There’s better opportunity here. It’s the American dream.”

This story was originally published in The Nevada Sagebrush
on April 15, 2008.
Original story on The Nevada Sagebrush website.