Illegal at Princeton

What an incredible story!  Let's hope the INS has a heart...

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Illegal at Princeton

Dan-el Padilla beat poverty and homelessness to become a star student. He still may have to leave the country.

By MIRIAM JORDAN
April 15, 2006

WSJ front page

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114505937960426590.html?mod=home_we_banner_mid

Dan-el Padilla Peralta, a 21-year-old classics major at Princeton University, has risen from a childhood in homeless shelters and blighted apartments to maintain a 3.9 grade-point average. He has won prize after prize, often taking twice the typical course load. One faculty member, writing a recommendation, predicted "he will be one of the best classicists to emerge in his generation."

Mr. Padilla stands out at Princeton for another reason: He's an illegal immigrant. And two weeks ago, he did something few people in his shoes ever do. He turned himself in.

Mr. Padilla recently won a two-year scholarship to Oxford University in the United Kingdom. But according to longstanding immigration law, if he leaves, he can't return to the U.S. -- his home since the age of 4 -- for at least 10 years.

While his case is exceptional, Mr. Padilla's predicament reflects the cacophony of messages a conflicted nation sends to illegal immigrants. This spring, at least 65,000 undocumented immigrant students, many of whom have been in this country most of their lives, will graduate from high school. The Constitution guarantees a public-school K-12 education for every child in the U.S.

Dan-el Padilla on the Princeton campus.

But after that, their future is uncertain. They can't work legally and undocumented students can't qualify for federal grants and loans or work-study programs that would help finance higher education. Only an estimated 10% to 15% of undocumented students who graduate from high school muster enough resources to pay for college, according to the National Immigration Law Center, a pro-immigrant group. There are an estimated two million illegal immigrants under the age of 18.

Ten states, including California, Texas and Oklahoma, have tried to make it more affordable for illegal immigrants who have graduated from local high schools to attend college by allowing them to pay in-state fees at public universities. Many private universities admit undocumented students, although getting them financial aid is often difficult because of their status.

In Mr. Padilla's case, some institutions -- like the elite Collegiate private school he attended in New York -- never even asked about his status. Princeton knew he was in the U.S. illegally, yet awarded him a scholarship anyway.

Bipartisan legislation was introduced in 2001 that would grant permanent residency to young people brought to the U.S. at least five years ago who have completed high school. Sponsors have never been able to convince Congressional leaders to allow a vote. Opponents say students who came to the U.S. illegally shouldn't be entitled to any form of amnesty or limited educational resources. "How much sense does that make, to have people here illegally and they have more benefits than those who are here legally?" says Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, a Republican.