In December, Rep. Marcus Brandon, a Democrat from Guilford County, submitted a formal request to Roy Cooper, North Carolina’s Attorney General, asking for an opinion regarding the legitimacy of Deferred Action Childhood Arrival students seeking in-state tuition at universities. This would impact 15,989 young North Carolinians deemed eligible by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.
The DACA program was implemented after President Barack Obama signed an executive order in June 2012 that said the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service will not deport people who came to the U.S. involuntarily as children if they meet certain requirements. However, deferred action doesn’t give these people lawful status. Consequently, states are allowed to charge DACA students out-of-state tuition, even though residents of undocumented status are required to pay taxes.
DACA is on the forefront of the political fight for rights for people of undocumented status in many states across the country. Sixteen other states have given the approval necessary to allow students of undocumented status to pay in-state tuition.
In January 2013 after the N.C. Department of Motor Vehicles threatened to suspend the licenses of 13 residents who entered the state illegally, Cooper issued an opinion stating that those who qualified for DACA status can apply for a driver’s license if they have the proper documentation. The Technician staff thinks Cooper should advocate for in-state tuition for DACA students, based on his previous stated support of those living with DACA status.
The NC Dream Team, composed of youth and students of undocumented status, operates as a movement within the state to push for the reforms so badly needed in regards to those with DACA status while raising awareness among documented citizens about the urgency of their limited access to higher education. Oliva Prezas Garces, a student activist with the NC Dream Team, explained her struggle thusly: “I have lived here almost my whole life. I was raised here. I overcame the challenge to learn English. I gave academics my top priority. My future is here in North Carolina, and this is my home.”
The Technician staff firmly believes that a response from the Attorney General is not only warranted, but vital to the interests of all people in North Carolina. We believe in equality of opportunity, and denying our future doctors, teachers and lawyers the right to access the affordable education they dream of is not only unfair, but detrimental to the state as a whole.
