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The Daily Tar Heel

Colleges closer to policy change

Undocumented students to enter

Correction (March 23 12:59 a.m.): Due to an editing error, and earlier version of this story misquoted William Gheen, president of Americans for Legal Immigration PAC. He said, “This is part of a broader national agenda to incorporate illegal immigrants into American society.” The story has been changed to reflect the correction. The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for the error.

Undocumented immigrants are one step closer to being able to attend N.C. community colleges.

The State Board of Community Colleges decided Friday in a 13–1 vote to approve a policy that would allow undocumented immigrants to enter the 58 community colleges in the system.

The policy comes with three stipulations that undocumented immigrants must meet: students have to be graduates of a U.S. high school, pay out of state tuition — $7,700 annually — and not displace a state or U.S. citizen.

 

Timeline for N.C. Community Colleges’ stances on undocumented immigrants:

 

-Dec. 21, 2001 – NCCCS creates initial policy to admit undocumented immigrant students.
-Aug. 10, 2004 – NCCCS allows each school to use discretion in forming admissions policies regarding undocumented immigrant students.
-Nov. 7, 2007 – NCCCS advises schools to admit undocumented immigrant students according to state’s open-door policy.
-Dec. 3, 2007 – NCCCS requests advice from N.C. Attorney General regarding admission decision.
-May 6, 2008 – N.C. Attorney General advises NCCCS to ban undocumented immigrant students from being admitted.
-May 13, 2008 – NCCCS temporarily bans admission of undocumented immigrant students.
-Aug. 15, 2008 – NCCCS commissions independent study of issue.
-April 16, 2009 – JBL Associates Inc. submits report advising NCCCS to accept undocumented immigrant students.
-Sept. 18, 2009 – NCCCS drafts policy to accept undocumented immigrant students.
-Friday – NCCCS votes to allow undocumented immigrant students to be admitted to community colleges.

“I’m ecstatic that it happened,” said senior Ron Bilbao, chairman of the N.C. Coalition for College Access.

“It’s a step in the right direction. It was practically a no-brainer kind of decision.”

The policy still has to pass the legislature’s Rules Reviews Commission. If 10 or more people enter letters of rejection, it must then be approved by the full N.C. General Assembly.

“Today’s vote was a part of an ongoing process,” said Megen Hoenk, director of marketing and external affairs for the N.C. Community College System.

“It is out of the hands of the Community College Board now,” Hoenk said.

If approved, the community colleges’ policy will be consistent with that of the UNC system.

The political action committee Americans for Legal Immigration, plans on getting more than 10 people to file complaints, said William Gheen, president of ALIPAC.

Gheen said he was disgusted with the vote.

“This is part of a broader national agenda to incorporate illegal immigrants into American society,” Gheen said.

He said the policy will encourage undocumented immigration and drive residents out of class.

The single dissenting vote came from N.C. Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton.

“It is simply not the right time to place greater demands on our community colleges,” Dalton said in a press release Friday.

Tony Asion, executive director of El Pueblo, an immigrant’s rights group, said he was surprised by Dalton’s statement.

“We should never tell a child who wants an education ‘You can’t have one,’” Asion said.

“They are being treated like second-class citizens.”

Asion said that while he was glad the policy was approved, he thought it was only a band-aid approach to a larger issue.

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Both he and Bilbao said the students should only have to pay in-state tuition.

“These people are working, paying taxes and contributing to American society,” Bilbao said.

“Just because we open the doors doesn’t mean we’re going to have a big influx of students because of the cost,” Bilbao said.

El Pueblo is raising money to help undocumented immigrants to pay the higher costs of a college education.

“There’s a lot more we could do,” Asion said.

Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.

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