USA (By Miriam Jordan, Wall Street
Journal) May 1, 2005 -
Suffering from a severe shortage of nurses, U.S. hospitals have recruited
thousands of workers from countries such as the Philippines, Jamaica and
Mexico. Meanwhile, Julieta Garibay's nursing degree from a prestigious Texas
university isn't helping her land a job with any hospital. The most she can
do is volunteer.
Garibay, 24, who came to the United States as a child, is an illegal immigrant. She is part of an emerging class of young immigrants facing a new quandary: They are educated, but unable to get work because of their immigration status.
Their dilemma promises to be an increasing problem as more illegal immigrants attend U.S. colleges. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1982 that all children, regardless of immigration status, are entitled to attend elementary and secondary school for free. But higher education is largely a state matter.
In 2001, Texas became the first state to pass a law allowing undocumented immigrant students who graduated from a state high school to pay resident tuition at public universities. Since then, eight more states have passed similar laws, and bills are before legislators in several other states. In a few states, financial aid is available. For Garibay, whose single mother is a cleaning lady, the in-state tuition legislation opened up an otherwise unaffordable opportunity.
However, as the first crop of students, about several hundred, who benefited from the Texas bill prepare to graduate in coming months, they find themselves unemployable. Their legal limbo is turning Texas into the test case for what happens to the new class of educated but illegal graduates.
Lawmakers say they anticipated that this problem could arise but hoped Congress would pass a bill to legalize these students. Such a bill is expected to be introduced in the Senate in coming months.
Distressed students are knocking on the door of Tito Guerrero, president of Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas.
"We have been living blissfully for four years," he said. "Now these kids are graduating, and I don't know what to tell them."
Supporters of the in-state tuition policy argue that it enables immigrant students to make a bigger contribution to the U.S. economy and society than if they are deprived of a higher education. Critics say the policy amounts to a tax giveaway for people who shouldn't be here in the first place. Kansas, which passed an in-state tuition bill last year, is facing a lawsuit in federal court from opponents who charge that such a measure violates the U.S. Constitution and immigration law. The first hearing is set for May 10.
Come May 20, Carlos Hernandez, 22, will have a degree in petroleum engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. One reason Hernandez, the son of a waitress and a construction worker, chose the major is that the university proclaims a high rate of job placement for graduates of its program. But during a recent job interview with oil giant Chevron Texaco Corp., Hernandez says an upbeat recruiter turned sour on hearing about his immigration status.
Companies sometimes sponsor foreign workers with specialized skills, making a case for permanent residency, or a green card. But laws that apply to undocumented immigrants make it impossible for businesses to sponsor these young people because they have been living in the country illegally.
Don Campbell, a Chevron spokesman said there is no way around the legal requirements for working in the United States.
Immigrant advocates say the only solution for students like Hernandez and Garibay is passage of the so-called Dream Act, which would allow those who came to the United States as children at least five years ago to get temporary legal residency upon completion of high school.
Garibay, 24, who came to the United States as a child, is an illegal immigrant. She is part of an emerging class of young immigrants facing a new quandary: They are educated, but unable to get work because of their immigration status.
Their dilemma promises to be an increasing problem as more illegal immigrants attend U.S. colleges. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1982 that all children, regardless of immigration status, are entitled to attend elementary and secondary school for free. But higher education is largely a state matter.
In 2001, Texas became the first state to pass a law allowing undocumented immigrant students who graduated from a state high school to pay resident tuition at public universities. Since then, eight more states have passed similar laws, and bills are before legislators in several other states. In a few states, financial aid is available. For Garibay, whose single mother is a cleaning lady, the in-state tuition legislation opened up an otherwise unaffordable opportunity.
However, as the first crop of students, about several hundred, who benefited from the Texas bill prepare to graduate in coming months, they find themselves unemployable. Their legal limbo is turning Texas into the test case for what happens to the new class of educated but illegal graduates.
Lawmakers say they anticipated that this problem could arise but hoped Congress would pass a bill to legalize these students. Such a bill is expected to be introduced in the Senate in coming months.
Distressed students are knocking on the door of Tito Guerrero, president of Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas.
"We have been living blissfully for four years," he said. "Now these kids are graduating, and I don't know what to tell them."
Supporters of the in-state tuition policy argue that it enables immigrant students to make a bigger contribution to the U.S. economy and society than if they are deprived of a higher education. Critics say the policy amounts to a tax giveaway for people who shouldn't be here in the first place. Kansas, which passed an in-state tuition bill last year, is facing a lawsuit in federal court from opponents who charge that such a measure violates the U.S. Constitution and immigration law. The first hearing is set for May 10.
Come May 20, Carlos Hernandez, 22, will have a degree in petroleum engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. One reason Hernandez, the son of a waitress and a construction worker, chose the major is that the university proclaims a high rate of job placement for graduates of its program. But during a recent job interview with oil giant Chevron Texaco Corp., Hernandez says an upbeat recruiter turned sour on hearing about his immigration status.
Companies sometimes sponsor foreign workers with specialized skills, making a case for permanent residency, or a green card. But laws that apply to undocumented immigrants make it impossible for businesses to sponsor these young people because they have been living in the country illegally.
Don Campbell, a Chevron spokesman said there is no way around the legal requirements for working in the United States.
Immigrant advocates say the only solution for students like Hernandez and Garibay is passage of the so-called Dream Act, which would allow those who came to the United States as children at least five years ago to get temporary legal residency upon completion of high school.
