For all college bound students, but in particular immigrant students, access to education is vital to support the local and national economy. Undocumented and DACA students face significant challenges when considering college as an avenue to economic mobility. Most often, immigrant youth are having to find ways to provide means to a decent way of life but only at a basic level of survival. Here we learn about Emmanuel Diaz and his affinity to his home state of Georgia. The argument to improve the economic status within the host country inspires his advocacy for tuition equity.

State policies that address college tuition access for immigrant students vary across the country. Emmanuel finds himself living in one of the most restrictive states which prohibit financial aid support and enrollment to public institutions of higher education. The U.S. is the host country to high numbers of immigrants, trending at approximately 427,000 plus immigrant students (Higher Ed Immigration Portal, 2022). There is a clear opportunity to develop policies that support economic mobility for immigrant youth. The states that are home to the most immigrants (California, Texas, Florida) have supportive policies that provide either or both access to college enrollment and financial aid support, but those state are few in number (Higher Ed Immigration Portal, 2022).

As transnationalism occurs as a global movement, laws and policies interfere with this process. Across the readings, we learn that the solutions that will alleviate these educational access challenges are restricted by policies. Fassin writes to the “promise versus the reality” of immigration: the pursuit of a better life at the expense of racialization connected to one’s immigrant identity (2011). Bias is further perpetuated with bias regarding immigrant students who do not access to continue their education. Similar to the global south immigrant movement, South Africa’s Bill of Rights functions to that of the United States’ version of the Higher Education Act of 1965 by way of granting “the right to basic education” for all students (Crush and Tawodzera, 2013). Emmanuel’s story is one of thousands and he makes the valid point of the missed opportunity for the state of Georgia to strengthen its economic wealth.

References:

Crush, J., & Tawodzera, G. (2013). The perilous trek: Zimbabwean migrant children and teachers in South Africa. In Refugees, Immigrants, and Education in the Global South (pp. 66-81). Routledge.

Fassin, D. (2011). Policing borders, producing boundaries. The governmentality of immigration in dark times. Annual Review of Anthropology, 40, 213-226.

Higher Ed Immigration Portal. (2022, April 7). Portal to the States. https://www.higheredimmigrationportal.org/states/