Undocumented Asian Students Speak Out
Pacific Citizen, News feature, Todd Kushigemachi, Special to the Pacific Citizen, Posted: Jul 30, 2008
Stephanie, 22, has had to take several quarters off of school to earn money for her education at UCLA. She has been a housekeeper, transcribed for writers and even made cardboard boxes.
"If I were to sit down and write a resume, it would be impressive in terms of how lengthy it would be," said Stephanie in an interview with the Pacific Citizen, proudly wearing her UCLA shirt. "Right now is probably the only time when I've had just one job."
Stephanie is an undocumented immigrant, making her ineligible for financial aid and unable to apply for most jobs. For her, the future is uncertain.
Brought to the United States from the Philippines before turning four years old, Stephanie is one of the many undocumented Asian Pacific Islander immigrants who discovered late in life that she has no options for legalizing her status.
Although about 40 percent of undocumented undergraduate students are Asian, according to an annual report by the University of California's Office of the President, the API community is not as open about the immigration issue as the Latino community.
"When you have the Asian students, there is a sense of secrecy and shame." said Stephanie, who asked the Pacific Citizen to only use her first name because of potential risk to her employment.
Stephanie and UCLA graduate Tam Tran have spoken out about their experiences as undocumented college students, seeking to raise awareness of the issue and gather support for legislation that will offer them a pathway to legalization.
A Life-Changing Surprise
Coming up on her 18th birthday, Stephanie pestered her mom to go with her to the DMV to finally get her California ID as an adult.
For the first 18 years of her life, Stephanie had no idea she was in the United States illegally, and she finally found out as she stood at the brink of adulthood.
"It's sort of like being told you were adopted or that you have a secret twin," she said. "You start to question, 'What don't I know about my family?'"
Growing up with her mother reading Us Weekly and her father watching Rush Limbaugh, she only knew about American culture and never learned to speak Tagolog. Stephanie said she has no memories of her life in the Philippines except commercials for Sarsi cola.
"If it weren't for the fact that there was photographic evidence, I would be willing to believe I was born in the U.S.," she said.
Stephanie is unable to apply for a driver's license so she uses public transportation. Because she spends so much time on trains and buses, she appreciates the few opportunities she has to ride in a car.
"When I'm a passenger in a friend's car, it's exciting for me," she said. "It has really made me get excited about weird little things."
Initially uncertain about whether she could attend a public university with her undocumented status, Stephanie eventually discovered Assembly Bill 540, which allows undocumented students to pay instate tuition to attend a public university.
However, Stephanie is ineligible for financial aid. Because she frequently takes time off to help pay for schooling, she estimates it will take seven or eight years to receive her undergraduate degree.
"I feel like I'm in a time warp," she said. "I feel like everyone is growing up so fast because the next thing everybody keeps graduating and everybody keeps moving on."
Uncertain Identity
For 25-year-old Tam Tran, her undocumented status was never a surprise.
"I think it's different talking to someone who's dealing with the issue of finding out they're undocumented and what that means," she said, contrasting her experience with Stephanie's. "I've always known we were dealing with this since I was a little kid."
Tran is of Vietnamese descent, but she was born in Germany and moved to the United States at the age of six. Tran's family cannot be deported because of the threat of persecution in Vietnam and Germany's refusal to grant them passports.
Tran testified in May 2007 before members of the House Judiciary Committee about the complications of her unique situation in support of the federal DREAM Act, a bill that could provide her a path towards citizenship.
"Without the DREAM Act, I have no prospect of overcoming my state of immigration limbo," Tran said in her testimony. "I'll forever be a perpetual foreigner in a country where I've always considered myself an American."
She also talked about her experiences as an undocumented student a few months later in an October 2007 USA Today article. Later that month at work, Tran received a collect call from her mother.
Her family had been arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
"If they had read the whole case file, they would have known that we can't be deported anywhere and not have wasted their time doing it," Tran said.
With the help of lawyers and Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, chair of the subcommittee before which Tran testified, Tran was able to have her family members freed. It is unclear whether or not there was a connection between the arrest and Tran's testimony or the USA Today article.
Now only having to periodically check in with ICE, Tran is headed towards Brown University in the fall for the American Studies graduate program.
Speaking Up
Tran and Stephanie have both participated in the UCLA group IDEAS (Improving Dreams, Equality, Access and Success). The group is meant to provide a place for undocumented students to share their experiences with each other and other members of the community.
Started in 2003, IDEAS also advocates for legislation such as the DREAM Act, which would provide a pathway to legalized status for college students who came to the U.S. before the age of 16.
"IDEAS has played a very important role in providing direct assistance to undocumented students at UCLA and advocating for the rights of undocumented students," said Kent Wong, director of the UCLA Center for Labor Research and Education.
Tran said she took on the unofficial role of the "token Asian" in IDEAS since many members of the API community do not speak out on the issue.
"Because I've spoken out on it so much, it's the only aspect of me people know," Tran said. "It's like, 'There's Tam, the undocumented student.'"
Stephanie worries about the potential risks of speaking out about being undocumented, but she said she is more worried about what would happen if she did not talk about her experiences.
When Stephanie spoke out in a Daily Bruin article about her experiences, she was attacked by conservative Web sites; most of the negative comments were about her not seeking legal status.
Stephanie said people fail to see that she has no path to legalization without legislation like the DREAM Act.
"The Asian community should aggressively speak out in support of the DREAM Act," Wong said. "They should notify members of Congress that this is a tremendous issue that affects both the Asian American community and society at large."
Until Congress passes the necessary legislation, Stephanie can only wait and see.
"Some people pray to God. I pray to Congress," she said.
Immigration issues
Claiming a Public Space -- Undocumented Youth Come Out of the Close
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User Comments
nativessayno on Jul 31, 2008 at 09:11:10 said:
Nezzie and her son's choice on where he attends university is their own demm business, slurs about his GPA and patronizing remarks about her, and her son's intelligence reflect a bigotry in the name of altruism and "justice".
Open Border sentiments can be laced with ALL kinds of cheap shot remarks...but heaven forbid you say anything negative about the "undocumented".
What a crazy up-side-down world when citizen's unworthiness in their personal decisions are on trial and require a defense about their own and their children's choices.... since the "undocumented" have the last say here now. In this logic it is just fine and dandy for an illegal immigrant to get lower tuition rates than a US citizen; what next: free vacations? Why not? We already are giving away valuable citizen's rights because some "forlorn" non-citizen's don't like how we run things here. Geez, think about it!
atto on Jul 30, 2008 at 19:55:06 said:
hey, nezzie, have you ever heard of FASA or these scholarships offered by universities and their departments. At least for my school, they are giving out like 2k per semester to pretty much any US citizens and PR that are currently enrolled in their engineering department. All you need is a 2.5ish GPA. Oh, wait, maybe you kids failed so badly he cant even keep up a 2.0 GPA to get qualify for FASA or any scholarships.
WestCoastResident on Jul 30, 2008 at 17:21:40 said:
Nazzie, your concern about in-state tuition for your child is valid but moot nonetheless.
Your child would receive in-state tuition if he/she attended a public university in the state that you have lived in a long time. These students receive in-state tuition because they are long term residents within their respective states.
State residency laws were created in the absence of any federal immigration influence.
If you choose to send your child to an out-of-state university, then it is really baseless for you to gripe about in-state tuition.
States offer in-state tuition rates to their own residents because of the greater potential for the student to continue to live in the state after graduation, thereby adding to the state's tax rolls with a high-wage employment as a consequence of the college degree. States have a vested interest in subsidizing the expenses of their own residents.
The reason out-of-state students aren't offered the same benefit is because the out-of-state student is less likely, in fact more likely to leave the state after graduation. Furthermore, the student's parents are not residents of the state and for all purposes haven't contributed to the state's tax receipts. The latter reasoning isn't publicized but its an underlying assumption when setting different tuition rates at public universities.
If you send your child to a private university, then everyone pays the same rate. If you send your child to an out-of-state public university, then you have no merit to gripe about different tuition rates. If you'd like to save on tuition rates, send your child to a public university within your own state.
Derick Causing on Jul 30, 2008 at 16:23:57 said:
I think that everyone here who has a negative comment towards immigration wouldnt have it if they only went through some of the hardships and obstacles these immigrants face. You all are blinded by these politicians and must I remind you that 200 years ago you werent here legally as well.
nativessayno on Jul 30, 2008 at 16:04:03 said:
I agree with Nezzie. It should be citizen foremost and then for non-documented if possible; instead of what we do have...illegals with their own extraordinary dicrete laws-which means we can crate loopholes for illegal persons but not for citizens.
Tran's case is not the norm. NAM conveniently picks in-depth cases that are in various shades of grey. Context would have been relevant here as this case is not ordinary.
Stephanie might consider that citizen students might well resent her position.
This is after all, an extremely polarizing topic. Joey's remarks " You are just another ignorant lazy American without any savvy to capitalize in America's numerous opportunities" are classic arrogant rhetoric that does not enlighten the debate, but is instead coarse name-calling.
Ted1333 on Jul 30, 2008 at 15:37:32 said:
Nezzie, if you had taken a moment to actually read the article you would have noticed that Tran has no country to go home to.
Instead of just replying to articles with the same copy and paste response, why not try and actually read the article and try and understand the issue. Dismissing something purely based on ignorance is silly, but then again informing you of this is also silly.
Best wishes to you Stephanie, it is a shame that, as a country, we are so willing to let TALENT like you leave, while at the same time there are corporations asking congress to allow for more H1b visas.
seano on Jul 30, 2008 at 13:08:17 said:
Americans must realize that no politicians want to sign immigration reform bill because they never wants to lose illegal immigrants. Dont worry Nezzie, nothing will happen if Americans think exactly as you think. Your narrow minded way of thinking is what the politicians wants. You let politicians shape your way of thinking. Tax money... so funny how you are so ignorant of the economy. Why do u get to live in houses, have cars, and get to send a son to college? It all comes down to the bottom of the pyramid. Hasnt anyone found out about this matter yet? NO AMERICAN POLITITIANS WANT TO LOSE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS BECAUSE THEY KNOW THAT ILLEGALS ARE THE STRONG FOUNDATION OF THE AMERICAN ECONOMY. They are just doing their job~
Joey on Jul 30, 2008 at 11:20:55 said:
Nezzie, your life wouldn't be so hard if you were half as hardworking as these children. Coming from numerous relatives who've immigrated here, we've all become very wealthy and prosperous. You are just another ignorant lazy American without any savvy to capitalize in America's numerous opportunities. Yes these children are here legally, but America would be a lot more prosperous if they stayed and you were deported.
Nezzie on Jul 30, 2008 at 10:27:36 said:
America has too many policies that appease illegal immigrants. I am disgusted that these people are going to school on in-state-tutition rates, while I have to pay full fare for my child, a born and breed US American Citizen! It is unfortunate that these people are illegal immigrants, but alas they are and Tran and Stephanie should be deported, they are illegal and should not be in our country. This is unfortunate. I want all of my tax money back so I can use it to help me with my son's out of state tutition bill! He does not receive any breaks.
AY on Jul 29, 2008 at 12:26:10 said:
This is one of the things that I admire about the Latino community. They openly talk about these things and are very supportive of each other. One of my asian friends had an undocumented grandmother and one time I heard her refer to undocumented immigrants as illegal aliens, that really annoyed me and I reminded her that her grandmother was undocumented. Most Asian Americans or even legal immigrants have someone who is undocumented in their family or someone who violated immigration laws in some way even if it was as simple as working the week's gap between work authorization cards.
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