Barriers to Civic Engagement for Undocumented
Students
By Hoover Zariani, director of the service
learning center at Glendale Community College
In 2001, then-Governor Gray Davis signed California
Assembly Bill 540 into law. By allowing certain undocumented
students to attend public colleges and universities
and pay in-state tuition fees, the bill opened a gateway
to higher education for some of the approximately 65,000
undocumented students who graduate from U.S. high schools
each year—students who, on average, have already
spent five or more years in the United States (Passel
2003).
In taking advantage of the bill, students enter precarious
positions. AB 540 allows students who graduated from
a California high school after at least three years
of attendance to enroll in and pay resident tuition
at public institutions of higher education (California
community colleges, the University of California, or
California State University). It does not provide federal
or state financial aid, and it is not a pathway to legal
status. AB 540 students are residents of the state of
California for educational purposes, yet they remain
undocumented (which is to say, illegal) in many other
contexts. They thus face many obstacles when trying
to become involved in their communities through service-learning
initiatives.
These obstacles range from economic and family pressures
to basic access to transportation. Because undocumented
students cannot work legally, many rely on odd jobs
(such as babysitting and eldercare) to generate income.
Families with two working parents may require college
students to care for younger siblings. These circumstances
create additional demands on students’ time and
limit their participation. Moreover, AB 540 students
cannot legally drive, so they often opt to fulfill service
learning requirements on campus rather than in the community
at large.
In my work with AB 540 students at Glendale Community
College, I have spoken with several students about these
and other challenges they face. Their stories attest
to legal, social, and psychological limitations to civic
participation. One AB 540 student indicated that whenever
he completed an application for off-campus community
service, he worried that he would be “found out.”
This stress created an additional drain on the student’s
energy as he pursued his academic goals, and he thus
preferred to fulfill course requirements with on-campus
activities. Another student reported that when applying
to become a tutor in a third-grade classroom, he found
that he had to provide fingerprints and undergo background
checks in order to work with children. He was forced
to decline the position. More important, he realized
that his dream of becoming a teacher was impossible
unless he could change his legal status.
Stories like these point to the lasting psychological
implications for students caught in the legal conundrum
of AB 540 status. Some AB 540 students who have lived
in the United States since early childhood report that
their status rarely affects their daily lives. When
situations like these arise and force them to confront
their precarious situation, certain dormant fears reappear
and childhood scars reopen. This psychological pressure
prevents AB 540 students from fully engaging with their
communities.
Despite these obstacles, AB 540 students are not isolated.
Thanks to programs and projects implemented specifically
for AB 540 students (such as campus clubs), these students
have formed small but tight-knit groups. Many applicants
to our AB 540 scholarship report feeling empowered by
their relationships with “others like me.”
As a result, they become more active participants in
civic life.
Philosopher Alain de Benoist has said that “The
highest measure of democracy is neither the ‘extent
of freedom’ nor the ‘extent of equality,’
but rather the highest measure of participation.”
Although I don’t often agree with Benoist’s
political views, I think he is right on target here.
I firmly believe that true democracy requires—in
fact demands—that all stakeholders in any society
be active participants. The challenge we face is helping
our AB 540 students become empowered to do so.
REFERENCES
Benoist, A. Quoted at www.dadalos.org/int/Demokratie/Demokratie/
Grundkurs1/Material/zitate.htm
Passel, J. S. 2003. Further demographic information
relating to the DREAM act. Washington, D.C.: The
Urban Institute. www.nilc.org/immlawpolicy/DREAM/
DREAM_Demographics.pdf
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