The University has sustained its reputation among the greatest public institutions in the country by consistently ensuring that an elite education be accessible to the masses. In order to continue this priority, it is essential that North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper release a legal opinion that would allow individuals with the status of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals to qualify for in-state tuition. This would serve as a catalyst for change that would also need the support of Chancellor Carol Folt and the entire student body.
Undocumented students in North Carolina, regardless of how long they have lived here, are technically considered international students and have to pay out-of-state tuition rates on top of competing among the pool of international students. Furthermore, these students are restricted from applying for federal or state financial aid, which is often a deciding factor in whether or not these students can attend college.
In 2012, the Obama administration authored a memo defining DACA, which awards temporary resident status to immigrants who came to the United States as children when their parents arrived illegally. Since the individuals who qualify for DACA can work in the U.S. without the threat of deportation, it might seem as if they would be more inclined to attend college, but due to financial constraints, this inclination is not realistic.
For the DACA students that are able to attend college, 17 states currently allow them to receive in-state tuition if they meet the same residential requirements as U.S. citizens, but North Carolina is not one of these states. It is of vital importance that Cooper issue a legal opinion granting in-state tuition, and that the North Carolina Board of Governors put it into effect. Education is a fundamental right, and individuals should not be deprived of this right on the basis of affordability.
Students who meet DACA requirements are in a position similar to those who qualify for Temporary Protected Status; where the U.S. extends immigrant status to individuals from countries where there is political strife or natural disaster. The difference is that students who qualify for TPS pay in-state tuition, increasing the likelihood of a college education.
When dealing with the case of undocumented students, it is foolish to be detached from reality. The reality is that this issue affects a significant number of students; there are over 16,000 DACA eligible teens and young adults in North Carolina alone. Granting these individuals access to a college education allows for them to acquire greater access to society as active citizens. In many cases these students have undocumented status through no fault of their own but because of situations that result from decisions made by their parents. To further their exclusion from higher education would marginalize them even more.
Though it is important that Cooper releases a favorable legal opinion, that is not enough. It is essential for Chancellor Folt to follow suit and for UNC to open up its doors to undocumented students at a reasonable price. As a key figure at the flagship UNC system school, Folt’s decision on this issue will carry a heavy influence which, with the support of the student body, will put public pressure on UNC-system President Tom Ross that will not only bring about institutional change, but it will bring justice to a relentlessly suppressed population.
