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Undocumented Immigrants No Longer Allowed In Top Georgia Colleges

Posted October 14, 2010 by Patrick Young, Esq.
Categories: Hate Watch

Georgia is now barring children who are undocumented from attending the five top public colleges in the state. The failure of the DREAM Act last month has made higher education the new front in the national campaign against young immigrants. The policy passed in a 14 to 2 vote by the state board of regents.

Georgia is the second state to enact a ban on undocumented children applying for college. Anti-immigrant groups are increasingly backing this effort to bar higher ed to the undocumented as a part of a strategy to drive immigrant students out of the public high schools. Undocumented children, cut off from access to college, are less likely to complete high school and thereby more likely to drop out.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution quoted one student who spoke in support of the move: “For every illegal person who is attending a public university, that’s another U.S. citizen turned away,” said David Bachman, a student at Middle Georgia College. “What is most astonishing is that our elected officials in Washington should be enforcing these laws instead of the State Board of Regents.”

Students at state schools beyond the five with an absolute ban will now have to quiz students on their immigration status, although undocumented immigrants will not be barred at this time from those community and technical colleges. In additions, college police at some Georgia schools have begun turning students over to ICE for minor violations like traffic infractions.

Anti-immigrant activists are now calling for the state legislature to take the next step and bar undocumented immigrants from all venues for public higher education, including vocational, technical, and community colleges.

Tags : dream act, immigrant children

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