Victoria Flores-Paniagua misses the mark, but the headline for her column today gets it right:
Top-notch immigrant students deserve better
Why yes, yes they do.
I knew a girl back in high school whose parents immigrated to the US from Mexico. Legally. Their story is not that unusual. Back in Mexico, they were professionals. A doctor & a lawyer (or maybe two lawyers; this was well over a decade ago, so I don't recall).
They came to San Antonio with their children, four or five kids, I think, and lived in a one-bedroom garage apartment. The parents worked in menial jobs. Their kids worked their asses off in school.
The girl I knew...I don't remember her name--I'm horrible with names--so I'll call her Vanessa, because I'm pretty sure her name did start with a V...She was in my German class my Junior year, and was a year ahead of me. Mind you, this was an advanced class, and she wasn't in the multilingual program like I was. She was just that good, and on her third language.
Vanessa was a very nice girl. Amazingly sweet-natured. Near the top of her class. Smart as a whip, in other words. Dedicated. Had big plans. Had scholarships. Was accepted at St. Mary's University.
Disaster struck shortly after she graduated high school. Her parents had put in for green cards for their kids (they were already legal permanent residents, as I recall). For whatever reason, Vanessa's green card, and her brother's, were both denied.
Her scholarships fell through. Her university attendance was put in jeopardy, because she was now an international student, which of course increased tuition and fees exponentially.
I think of Vanessa every time I read stories like those of the people Ms Flores-Paniagua mentions in her column. Because Vanessa came here legally, and worked her ass off, and defrauded exactly no one and she wound up struggling. Meanwhile Benita Veliz and Eric Balderas broke the law to come to the United States, broke the law to attend school here ('cause, hey, you need a Social Security number to enroll in school), broke the law when applying for college and financial aid and scholarships...
And I'm supposed to feel sorry for them? Ah, NO. I feel sorry for legal immigrants who do what they can to succeed. I don't feel any more sorry for Veliz & Balderas than I do for any Joe Garcia who knocks over a corner store. (And if you stop to think about it, the robber probably steals less money than these two did.)
4 comments:
I read your well thought out, to the point rebuttals to these professional columnists and I just have to wonder why I don't see your byline in the paper.
I'd love to see Cary Clack or Victoria Flores-Paniagua do a story on the "Vanessa's" involved in this debate.
By the way, I went to a garage sale at VF-P's house (she lives/d in a home near mine) about the first week she took over for the much needed to retire Carlos Guerra. Seemed like a really nice lady.
I feel really bad for Vanessa, but I wonder...why was her green card denied? And if it was denied, what about all the years she lived in the US prior? Was she...(gasp) illegal???
Also, if her "scholarships" fell through, they must not have been real scholarships because private schools have no distinction in residency when determining scholarship money. Perhaps she was actually receiving financial aid??
Since when is a social security necessary to enroll in school? According to a Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education (1984), it is unconstitutional to deny anyone a K-12 education based on legal status. As such, social security numbers are not required to enroll in school
How do you know that Benita Veliz and Eric Balderas "broke the law to come into the US"?? Perhaps they came legally and overstayed their visas (sound like Vanessa???)
In 2001, the state of Texas passed a law, entitled the Noriega bill, that provided an amendment that allows undocumented immigrant students to qualify for in-state tuition regardless of their legal status if they can prove they graduate from a Texas high school and have been in the US at least 3 years...this is the perfect opportunity for the "Vanessas" of the world to avoid having to pay out-of-state tuition based on legal status.
This is just my two cents.
why was her green card denied?
God alone knows. It's not as if they're guaranteed. You know this, yes?
Was she...(gasp) illegal???
No, she was not. It is legal to live in the United States, provided you have come here legally, while your green card application is pending. This is info also not difficult to come by.
Also, if her "scholarships" fell through, they must not have been real scholarships because private schools have no distinction in residency when determining scholarship money
When did I say her scholarships were through the school? I did not. If you cease to meet the qualifications for a private scholarship, it WILL go bye-bye.
According to a Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education (1984), it is unconstitutional to deny anyone a K-12 education based on legal status.
Ah, Brown v. Board of Education was decided in 1954, not 1984, and dealt with racial segregation in the schools, not immigration status. Nice try, though.
How do you know that Benita Veliz and Eric Balderas "broke the law to come into the US"??
Ah, mainly because they've both admitted to entering the United States illegally.
Perhaps they came legally and overstayed their visas (sound like Vanessa???)
She didn't overstay her Visa, though.
this is the perfect opportunity for the "Vanessas" of the world to avoid having to pay out-of-state tuition based on legal status.
And yet again, you miss the very salient fact that Vanessa was never an illegal alien.
Yes, the system is stupid from top to bottom. There is no line, the border is wide open, and we've let this insanity go on for so long someone should be assassinated - maybe two!
Here is my take on it:
http://fireandgrace.blogspot.com/2010/05/immigration-common-sense-view-with.html
Good blog!
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