Immigration supporters call for law changes

By Tracy Culumber

In an effort to gain legal status and funding, undocumented students and community members gathered on campus to support legislation to improve immigrant rights Tuesday evening.

Over 50 local supporters of the Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act, also known as H.R. 2330 or S. 1033, met at the Illinois Disciples Foundation, located at the corner of Wright Street and Springfield Avenue, to attend a community forum, hosted by the Illinois Coalition For Immigrant and Refugee Rights.

Diana Mora, junior in LAS, and Yesenia Sanchez, senior in LAS, organized the meeting and translated it in English and Spanish. Both women are undocumented students from Mexico who have lived in Illinois for several years. As representatives of the coalition, they encouraged the audience to fight for more reforms to immigration laws.

Mora and Sanchez also provided the audience with scripted messages to be recited to U.S. Congressman Timothy Johnson over cellular phones provided at the event. The messages requested Johnson’s support of the legislation.

“All this work needs to be happening, but simultaneously, advocacy needs to be happening to get the laws passed,” Mora said. “He better listen to us. We are also loud, we are also noisy and we need this passed.”

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Mora and Sanchez have requested to meet with Johnson several times since April in order to discuss the comprehensive immigration reforms, but he has not yet agreed.

Phil Bloomer, Johnson’s press secretary, said Johnson recently met with similar organizations and has gone out of his way to help them.

“He is very aware of their concerns, but he hasn’t made any promises,” Bloomer said. “There is a lot of pressure from both sides of this issue.”

Marissa Graciosa, director of the New Americans Democracy Project and spokesperson for the coalition also spoke at the forum. She demanded a clear path for citizenship, guest-worker programs through the use of legal visas, and an end to the backlog of people waiting to bring their families into the U.S.

“The Champaign area is a hotbed of civic-engagement,” Graciosa said. “I am excited to see it.”

Each speaker addressed the importance of education reforms and mentioned HB 60, legislation passed in 2003 that allows undocumented students who reside in Illinois to pay in-state tuition at state universities and colleges.

Graciosa informed the audience of the requirements for undocumented students to be able to pay in-state tuition. These qualifications included at least three years of state residence, an Illinois high school diploma or G.E.D. equivalent, a signed affidavit stating intent to become a U.S. citizen, and an acceptance letter from a university or college.

She said that, before HB 60, an undocumented student was required to pay out-of-state tuition which impeded hundreds of students from getting an education.

Undocumented students cannot legally work or have a valid social security number. They have few financial opportunities to pursue postsecondary education and, since they have no legal status, they do not qualify to receive grants, loans or work-studies.

Senator Rick Winkel, a strong advocate of the HB 60, spoke at the forum about this issue.

“I gotta tell you, once I understood what the thrust of the bill was, I knew it was the right thing to do,” Winkel said. “It was just the natural thing to do.”

Because state universities cannot ask for citizenship papers, the exact number of undocumented students on campus is unknown. Mora estimates that about 30 undocumented students are accepted to the University each year, and about half have the financial means to attend. She and Sanchez had the opportunity to pursue their postsecondary education as a result of HB 60.

“(Undocumented students) need to be able to have the same opportunities to get an education and find jobs after college,” Mora said. “We need to gain legal status through Comprehensive Immigration Reform.”