Meet Gladys Castro: 4.09 GPA. Accepted to UC Berkley. No Loans: Illegal Immigrant

[goodboy]

She's a member of the Army Junior ROTC and National Honor Society.

FONTANA – Gladys Castro has all the numbers needed to get into UC Berkeley – except one.

Although the 17-year-old Kaiser High School senior carries a 4.09 grade-point average and has been accepted to the university, she cannot apply for government loans because she’s an illegal immigrant and doesn’t have a Social Security number.

“I don’t know how I’m going to pay for school,” she said. “All I want is a chance.”

Castro said less than a year ago, one Kaiser High administrator refused to sign a petition supporting federal college aid for illegal immigrants, supposedly saying that they don’t deserve to go to American universities.

“I just started crying,” Castro said.

Some say Castro has spent her chance on a high school diploma.

“California has already dumped $100,000 in free education (on her),” said Robert Rector, a senior research fellow at the Washington, D.C.-based Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. “If you want to be tough about it, you can ask for it to be repaid.”


https://countusout.wordpress.com/2010/05/18/gladys-castro-girl-who-came-to-u-s-illegally-cant-get-loans/

[Newsjock]

1. Oh, this is gonna be fun

:popcorn:

[racaulk]

22. Extra butter on mine, please.

:popcorn:

[Name removed]

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[DRoseDARs]

157. Someone apparently doesn't like butter. n/t

[LLStarks]

2. She's gamed the system long enough and doesn't deserve any loans. nt

[readmoreoften]

10. When did she start "gaming the system"? When she was 3? 10? What a moral reprobate!

Seriously. People like you make me physically ill. Any nation should be happy to have a 4.09 GPA student.

[Name removed]

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[CreekDog]

12. "When she was 8 years old, her family fled the crime and violence of their hometown in Jalisco"

you say she gamed the system?

clearly educational dollars were wasted on you.

:grr:

[Dappleganger]

28. If she was Cuban there would be no problems here.

[Sebastian Doyle]

63. Well, maybe except for

the fact that she wouldn't be too popular with the Miami Batista fan club with the name "Castro" ;)

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

78. Dude. The surname "Castro" is like "Jones" in Spanish-speaking countries.

Come to think of it, Portuguese-speaking ones too.

Lots of folks to hate.

[Name removed]

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[Mass]

17. Sure. Obviously, at 8, she made the decision to go across the border illegally.

[LLStarks]

25. She's making a conscious decision to attend a college she can't afford out of pocket.

It doesn't matter.

[CreekDog]

26. then where is her home?

genius.

:wtf:

[KamaAina]

37. What college could she afford out of pocket?

For that matter, what college could you have afforded out of pocket?

[Name removed]

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[grantcart]

139. So she brilliantly started gaming the system at 8 years old

Well anybody that brilliant that young should be given a Visa and a chance to contribute.


Imagine that gaming the system at 8. I was gaming ant hills with Tonka trucks.


No wonder the poster is intimidated by people that smart.

[alarimer]

151. That's fucking disgusting.

Gaming the system? By getting good grades?

Here is my proposal: We allow all students, regardless of immigration status, as long as they have graduated from an American high school, to attend college in the US and compete for grants, scholarships loans.

Anything else is fucking inhumane. And anyone who says what you did is neither a liberal or a progressive.

[junkiebrewster]

3. Not to hijack the thread, but

how does one get a 4.09 GPA? Clearly, it's not a 4 point scale, right?

[HCE SuiGeneris]

4. She gave 109%

Sheesh! ;)

[EOTE]

68. Actually, she'd have to give 102.25% nt.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

128. I contemplated changing or annotating

the reply, but figured that
1) It was funnier at 109%
2) It would be pointed out that my answer was incorrect

:hi:

[The Straight Story]

5. The .09 snuck across the grading border

:rofl:

[junkiebrewster]

7. HA!!

Ok, both of those were great answers.

But, seriously....

[ecstatic]

6. AP courses have extra weight nt

[Mass]

9. HS GPA can go up to 5, thanks to Honors and AP classes.

[CreekDog]

16. California awards 1 extra grade point for "honors" and "AP" classes

:hi:

[jdp349]

154. AP Classes are on a 5.0 scale

[blondeatlast]

8. Can't wait to see how many are going to side with the tax-exempt Heritage Foundation guy.

Light on the real butter and sea salt for me, thanks.

[Mass]

11. Quite a few already.

[blondeatlast]

31. I wish I were surprised, but I'm not.

Usual suspects, mostly.

[readmoreoften]

13. At least one "Democrat" so far on the thread.

[CreekDog]

18. One so far, but no excuse for that --she came here when she was 8

maybe they'd like her to get the death penalty for not stopping her parents from bringing her here? :shrug:

[The Straight Story]

19. Interesting how you chose to word that - ignoring the points of argument and using association (nt)

[blondeatlast]

27. Just an opinion--if I'm wrong, there's no reason anyone should

feel uncomfortable about the association, right?

[EFerrari]

24. I though all the law and order Democrats became Republicans in 1964.

[Lance_Boyle]

14. So, she got a free education from CA taxpayers, and now wants MORE?

Sorry - she should see about attending University wherever she's a legal resident. Or, since she's JROTC, maybe join up - illegals who join the Army can get citizenship.

[EFerrari]

30. Free how? If her parents own property or pay rent

they've paid for her education.

[Flaneur]

32. I wonder how much in taxes her parents have paid to California.

And where they spent their paychecks.

You need to lance that boil. It's gone to your head.

[treestar]

118. Don't be a jerk

She was brought here when she was 8.

If you want to bitch at her parents, fine.

[nadinbrzezinski]

23. Shh here is a little secret nobody speaks about

when talking about this. Green Card holders are not eligible for government loans either. Translation, LEGAL residents are not eligible either, and gosh darn it, we do have that pesky social security number.

That said, exceptional students should get a break... as this is the kind of investment we need to make in this country... not that the guy at heritage gets that.

Oh and do pass the damn popcorn.

[thelordofhell]

29. Like this problem is unique to illegal immigrants

Green card holders can't get federal student loans either. She should do as another poster suggested and join the service.

[LLStarks]

36. That's not a bad idea. She still belongs at the back of the line though. nt

[LanternWaste]

52. I imagine many people believe...

I imagine many people believe that they themselves have an absolute knowledge of who does or does not deserve to be at the end or the beginning of a line.

Far more often than not though, it seems those very same people always justify they should be nearer towards the front of the line than they already are...

[thelordofhell]

58. Unless you're a scion

everyone pretty much starts at the back of the line. She's more in the middle because she has a basic education and is obviously smart and talented. She just wants to go to college and she can't afford it, like the majority of the people in the United States.

[KamaAina]

38. Join the service?

So she can go to college if when she comes back?

[thelordofhell]

54. She's in ROTC so she obviously loves the service

This isn't about the war, it's about getting this girl money to go to college.

[KamaAina]

61. I missed that.

So if she's actually in the service, she gets money, but not if she's in JROTC? :wtf:

[thelordofhell]

86. Yup

Unfortunately, being an illegal alien doesn't leave you with much of a choice in getting money for college. Because even ROTC scholarships require you to be a citizen.

If she joined the service, I doubt she would get a front line assignment. She would probably get a tech or some other behind the scene assignment. She would serve her time and get a lot of money for college AND become a legal citizen of the United States.

I think that there are some non-federal grants she could look into too.

This girl has options other than a federal loan. She should use that high GPA mind and go get them.

[alarimer]

152. So she gets a chance to die for no reason but not to go to college.

Fuck that shit. This country does not deserve anyone like her in the service.

The US officially sucks. Most Americans suck too, especially the assholes on this thread who are opposed to her trying to better herself by going to college. This country deserves exactly what has happened to it. Ignorant pieces of shit like George W. Bush get to go to fucking YALE because their dads went, while hard-working, smart people who happened to be illegal immigrants, have to take a change on being cannon fodder in order to afford college. The hell with that. I am sure some other country would more than welcome students like her and they will be better off for it. We deserve to be in the toilet because we treat people like shit in this country.

Apparently even having a green card wouldn't help. This is needlessly punitive.

[EFerrari]

97. The US military targets Latino communities. Amy just did this story yesterday:

Yo Soy El Army

http://www.democracynow.org/2010/5/18/yo_soy_el_army_us_military

And, for an extra special bonus, people who are promised citizenship after they serve often are screwed out of it. It's a pretty nice deal for the Army.

[proud2BlibKansan]

33. Yes let's deport our most talented kids!

You'd think they're smart enough to know what illegal means!!

:sarcasm:

[SemiCharmedQuark]

34. What do you know! This girl is worse than 10 Hitlers!

[Name removed]

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[proud2BlibKansan]

51. With a couple Mussolinis thrown in as well!

[Name removed]

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[AnArmyVeteran]

40. If an illegal alien discovered a cure for cancer, racists would want them deported anyway.

[Name removed]

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[proud2BlibKansan]

57. They would have deported Jesus

He was illegal.

[AnArmyVeteran]

134. Right 'proud'... but they would have nailed him to a cross and then returned him...

No one can be a practicing Christian and a conservative extremist at the same time. They are exact opposites. And yes, right wingers would crucify Jesus all over again because they hate his empathy, compassion and what he stood for. They would call him a socialist and say he ran around with terrorists, murderers, thieves and prostitutes. They would nail him to a cross because right wingers even believe in torture.

I truly believe the same kind of people who hammered nails through Jesus' hands and feet would be in the right wing today. They are against everything Jesus taught, yet they call themselves 'Christians'. Good grief!

[pampango]

42. "Rep. Joe Baca, D-San Bernardino, agrees. He supports the Dream Act."

"It is wrong to unfairly punish those young people who come to America through no fault of their own," Baca said. He supports the Dream Act, but said it is limited in that it helps only those who are seeking assistance in higher education or those who enroll in the military. He has introduced the People Resolved to Obtain an Understanding of Democracy, or Proud Act, which would give "responsible immigrant high school graduates" a realistic pathway to citizenship if they have good grades, show an understanding of U.S. civics and "stayed out of trouble."

"The good news is the comprehensive immigration bill introduced in the House, H.R. 4321, includes provisions of both the Proud Act and the Dream Act," Baca said.

Rector disagreed, saying such bills do nothing more than reward illegal behavior. A child benefitting from a criminal act such as crossing the border illegally is inexcusable, he said.

In fact, he suggested an alternative. "They need to go back where they came from. That girl would do quite well in Mexico. It's not like consigning her to hell."

Castro said she hears that type of rhetoric all the time, from conservative political pundits to Tea Party activists.

[Name removed]

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[Robbie88]

45. This, to me, is the key section of this article:

When she was 8 years old, her family fled the crime and violence of their hometown in Jalisco, Mexico.

Two of her relatives were kidnapped and murdered, and when the family stopped at her uncle’s house in Tijuana before illegally entering the United States, he warned them not to go near the windows because of the frequent shootings in the neighborhood.

Castro cannot forget the stories told by childhood friends in Mexico, who spoke of the dead bodies they would see in cars after a bloody street battle.

Americans need to stop pretending that the issue of undocumented immigration is one that is defined in simplistic terms of right vs. wrong, law abiding vs. law breaking, etc. The fact is that the vast majority of these people are good human beings who find themselves in desperate situations often more troubling than those who constantly demonize them can imagine. It should be obvious to us that these people do not leave their homes, friends, and often family members, to take the great risks involved in crossing the border simply for the hell of it or because they wish to cause trouble; they do it because they are desperate. Until we are willing to address the problems that are causing people to immigrate illegally, I don't see how we can possibly get anything done. We should start by shifting our trading partnership with Mexico from one that is based in free trade towards one that is based in fairness, and after that we should examine other ways in which the U.S. and Mexico can cooperate in order to relieve the conditions which are causing people to come here illegally in the first place...

[Lance_Boyle]

49. Why do they never flee SOUTH to escape the violence?

This person's parents came here illegally to *take advantage* of perceived opportunities in America. Had they been simply "fleeing violence" there were 3 other cardinal directions they could have chosen. Nope - they chose to come to the US illegally. It's beyond time for them, their daughter, and the rest of the illegals to return home.

[blondeatlast]

56. Maybe it's because El Salvador never erected a statue to welcome refugees

like we have here in America (wait, the NY Harbor IS still in the US, or am I mistaken?)

[aikoaiko]

133. The Statue of Liberty is actually in NJ, but the water around the island is Upper New York Bay.

If I recall correctly.

[dionysus]

62. JD Hayworth, is that you?

[EFerrari]

64. Because thanks to our meddling, those countries are screwed up, too?

Go learn something about the US in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.

LOl.

[proud2BlibKansan]

69. I take it you aren't familiar with the Central American countries south of Mexico?

Were you awake in the 80s? Does Nicaragua ring a bell? Guatamala?

[CreekDog]

75. Wow FAIL

but we should actually thank you for that post because it shows that you are completely ignorant of what you are talking about.

so that there's no point in listening to anything else you have to say on this.

sorry. is there a way to sugar coat this? :(

[Raineyb]

98. Wow one would think that one would be embarrassed to display such

stunning ignorance. Apparently not.

[a la izquierda]

115. Are you for fucking real?

Dear Lord, your post has literally GOT to be one of the stupidest on record.
Mexico is surrounded by water on 2 sides, genius. And to the south is Guatemala, not exactly the stellar example of non-violent nations.
Read a book, or even a newspaper.

[Lilyeye]

116. WTF are you even doing here? I know we have ignorant people on DU,

but your posts remind me of the crap my right wing aunt says.

[treestar]

119. Her parents did that, not her

And it's what any of us would do in the same situation.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

122. If I could, I would gladly trade Gladys Castro for you.

[racaulk]

124. Mexico shares a land border with three countries:

United States, Guatemala, and Belize.

If you were looking to flee from violence in Mexico, where would YOU go?

And Mexico is surrounded by vast bodies of water in two of those four cardinal directions, genius.

:eyes:

[Radical Activist]

135. Just like my Irish and German ancestors did 150-250 years ago.

Most immigrants were fleeing constant wars, violence, or starvation in their home country. They came here to take advantage of new opportunities. There's nothing new or wrong with that. Why is it noble when we talk about European immigrants 200 years ago but somehow shameful today? None of them had permission from any Native-American tribe to move here.

[asjr]

46. Swear her in now and make her a citizen.

Anyone with that GPA deserves to go to college no matter his or her origin. We need all the smart people we can get in this country. Who knows, maybe she will go into medicine and shame us all by discovering a cure for cancer.

[backscatter712]

110. Damned straight!

Say whatever you want about grown adults jumping the border, but this girl was brought here when she was eight.

Eight.

So, yeah, I'm in favor of cutting her a break and just giving her straight amnesty. Undocumented kids shouldn't be punished for the sins of their parents.

[ismnotwasm]

47. "Heritage Foundation"?

A runner up for the Ugliest Hate Group contest

Let her get her loans and go to college. People try to always make this a black or white issue and it. just. isn't. I hope with all my heart she gets some funding and is able to follow her dreams. Her citizenship can be addressed in a civilized manner, and she's already a part of this country. In the meantime, don't hold the kid back with that 'she got a high-school diploma aren't we generous' bullshit

[Bill McBlueState]

48. she shouldn't get any loans

She should get grants. The odds are, any taxpayer investment in her future will be more than paid back after she graduates. This is the whole point of state-supported higher education.

[blondeatlast]

50. Best. Response. Yet.

:thumbsup:

[pinboy3niner]

53. + 1000

:thumbsup: Yes--best response yet.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

67. +Skewes' Number (Graham's number up-arrows) Skewes' Number

[proud2BlibKansan]

70. A+

[racaulk]

126. Thank you!

:thumbsup:

[dana_b]

143. yes, yes!!

That's something that people forget. What people like her put back into society is more than what they take. Same goes for a lot of immigrants - documented or not. If they have jobs with payroll taxes, they are adding to society!

[nyc 4 Biden]

55. Give me your tired...

"Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

[blondeatlast]

59. What kinda dirty pinko Commie said that? nt

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

66. You called?

[cyberswede]

65. This is why we need the DREAM Act

http://www.nilc.org/immlawpolicy/dream/index.htm

[Unvanguard]

71. No deportations, ever--and pass the DREAM Act to help students like her. n/t

[lumberjack_jeff]

72. All is right with the world.

She'll be fine. She has adequate grades to get into UNAM, (Mexico has free college for those who can pass the tests) and if she wants to go to school in the US, she's free to apply for a student visa, and private loans and scholarships.

It's not that I don't care. It's that I care less than for the citizen who will get a UC Berkely education instead.

[blondeatlast]

73. Why do you care for one over the other? nt

[lumberjack_jeff]

106. One is my countryman, to whom I have a overlying social responsibility.

family -> fellow citizens -> legal visitors -> illegal visitors.

If I were to surreptitiously go to Mexico, I would expect less than this family received, and I would absolutely not expect a Mexican citizen to be denied an education so that my child could.

There are worse things in the world than being denied your first choice of college, but I have no doubt that after this story, lots of donors will step forward, and someone else will have to settle for community college.

[treestar]

120. Oh please - she is your countryman too in any real sense

It's not her fault her parents brought her illegally, and she grew up here.

[lumberjack_jeff]

130. No, she is a Mexican citizen, entitled to the benefits of her country.

If she had been born here, she would be my countryman in a real sense, entitled to the benefits of this one.

[treestar]

136. She grew up here

And it wasn't her fault she was brought here illegally.

If she'd been born after he parents got here, you'd probably be calling her and anchor baby.

[lumberjack_jeff]

146. No, I'd be calling her a citizen.

"citizenship" isn't ambiguous.

[EFerrari]

129. Most picks after Cal are not community college

but other universities including the Ivy League and then state schools and then community colleges.

[lumberjack_jeff]

105. self delete - wrong place

[disillusioned73]

74. Some here have said she got a ..

"free" education. Really?? Let's not forget the reason her parents came here illegally to begin with. It was for work and a better life for their children. I am sure the jobs that her parents were able to find weren't the highest paying jobs and I say her education was fully funded to the employers that benefited from the cheap labor that her parents supplied... with or without taxes

I think some of our DU posters are from Arizona

[blondeatlast]

76. This one is and I rseriously need to know how I can boycott my state.

I love it here and couldn't afford to move anyway, but I can't take this gawdforesaken political stupidity much longer.

[disillusioned73]

80. Didn't mean to

broadbrush all Arizonans, but there is some serious craziness going on over there.

Teachers can't have "accents"
Not ethnic studies

Scary times - I feel for you

[blondeatlast]

83. I know; I guess my skin is getting ever thinner. I really didn't think Brewer would

be so bad--but now I just wonder what Jan and the Leggies are going to foist upon us next.

[thelordofhell]

95. We didn't learn the lesson

When Evan "we used to call 'em pick-a-ninnies" Meacham became the Governor. Now even though we never elected this digbat Jan Brewer to be our Governor (Janet Napalitano was the gov until she took a much better position), we all have to suffer Jan Brewer disease until election day. As for our legislature, this state has been gerry-mandered to death in favor of republicans. We're kinda like Texas in that regard.

[Goblinmonger]

93. Not to mention that she undoubtedly lived somewhere

so her parents were paying rent (assuming they didn't own a house but same outcome) which means they were paying the property taxes of the property which is the funding for the school so hardly free. Not to mention what they paid in sales tax to the state (which in most states helps to fund education as well).

[NeedleCast]

77. She's here illegally, I don't think she has any right to loans

Might not be the popular view here, but this simply supplies the right with exactly what they're looking for...namely that tax dollars are being spent on people who are here illegally. That they are taking from a system they're not paying into.

[EFerrari]

84. So, you're saying that the tax dollars this family put into the system

aren't real money?

LOL

[NeedleCast]

91. Father unemployed, mother works at a barber shop

Your evidence that this family is paying taxes is....what?

Her family has apparently been in the states for at least 10 years. What, if anything, have they done to naturalize in that time, I wonder.

LOL

[EFerrari]

94. Of course they pay taxes. If they rent, they pay the landlord's tax bill.

If they own property, they pay property tax. They pay sales tax in California every time they go to the store. Mom has a job, she's paying payroll taxes.

Seriously, beg, borrow or steal a clue.

[NeedleCast]

99. Again, what evidence do you have that mom is paying payroll taxes?

Despite all your LOLs and Get a Clue insults, you can't answer that question from what's in the article (unless you want to make the argument that many illegals aren't being paid "under the table" (in which case I really will LOL)).

They may be paying some tax. They are not paying the same taxes as legal residents of California. Further, even were that not true, she's here illegally. I'd love for that not to be the case because she seems like a bright young lady.

Are grants avaliable to her if she is here illegaly? What about scholarships?

[EFerrari]

102. You don't know they aren't paying the same taxes as legal residents.

The very last thing any undocumented family wants is attention. And for an extra special bonus, they are likely keeping our Social Security fund from tanking with deposits they can never access.

It's a very sweet deal we have going here. Paying these people nothing, collecting their taxes, taking their SS deposits.

As to this young lady, I'd be surprised if someone doesn't step up to sponsor her somehow. I hope they do. We shouldn't be deporting people this promising, we should be recruiting them and not for cannon fodder.

[NeedleCast]

104. "The very last thing any undocumented family wants is attention"

Really? Seems like it might not be a good idea to talk with the press about why you can't get collage loans because you're here illegally in that case, huh? You know, where you're identified by name and a picture of you is posted with said article...

Their inability to access social security and similar benefits all hinges on one thing...being here illegally.

I hope she can find a sponsor as well. I hope she will take the steps to naturalize, if possible. Otherwise - as I stated earlier - she is exactly who the right points to when they wail about illegal immigrants.

[EFerrari]

107. Yes, because it frightens and angers them that brown people can excel

I couldn't agree more. These are the same people who believe Obama is a sleeper for al Qaida who wants to end capitalism.

And I'm very heartened by the fact that so many of these young people who have been caught up in our coercive rip off of an immigration system are coming out, no matter the cost to themselves. All the more pressure for Obama to get behind the Dream Act, which he has already says he supports.

[CreekDog]

127. If the mom's employer isn't withholding payroll taxes for her, her employer is breaking the law

not her.

[Bill McBlueState]

117. no, it's the popular view

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=8369424&mesg_id=8369424

[treestar]

121. So visit it on the parents, but not the kids

this is the same mentality that wants kids born in the US to illegals not to be citizens. Punishing people for what their parents did is medieval.

It's not the US. Just not the way we are.

[unabelladonna]

79. get a job...

which is how many other students(and citizens) pay for college.

[blondeatlast]

81. So you have no problem with the "illegal" working her way through school.

Nor do I. But she sounds like a brilliant and motivated student that can offer much to society--she should get whatever she needs; her contributions will be many.

[disillusioned73]

82. Actually..

most students with a 4.09 GPA would get full scholarships

[EFerrari]

85. Not any more. Have you seen what tuition costs lately?

And, is there any reason you believe this young lady doesn't have a job?

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

88. Well, she's a dirty Mexican, and all of them Mexicans are lazy and live on welfare, obviously. -nt

[Raineyb]

89. says unafeadonna who apparently has no clue how much it costs to go to

college. The days where one could work part time for minimum wage and pay for college are long gone.

Frankly TPTB prefer it that way.

[blondeatlast]

92. Not to mention she's "illegal," so working ought to be out of the question--

or am I missing something (I'm on your side, btw).

[Raineyb]

101. I don't think you're missing anything. On the other hand it would appear that

logic has completely missed the person of whom we are speaking.

[blondeatlast]

103. I actually giggled when I read that SL. I thought sure it was going to be a brilliant put-on. nt

[Raineyb]

109. It's still funny.

If you like gallows humor.

The pithy "get a job" remark seems to be a mindless throwaway line people use to dismiss someone. Usually as a way to imply that someone is begging for something. This girl is talking about a loan so apparently she's willing to go into debt for an education. A debt she'd obviously have to pay off yet this person says "get a job" as though that answer was the end all to be all of everything. Meanwhile they never even take into consideration whether it's feasible.

What's worse this same person will complain about how "illegals" are taking jobs from people.

Of course having undocumented people who are in no position to fight back does deleteriously affect the labor pool, however the solution is not to go after the people being exploited it's to go after the employers. But that would mean going after business people (especially large employers) which for some reason people in this country seem to worship. As though business people could possibly do business without workers in the first place but that's a rant for another topic.

[CreekDog]

125. maybe she can get a nice one like you have, one that lets her post to DU while at work

or aren't you working?

:eyes:

[1776Forever]

87. One more reason for immigration reform and workers program implementation! Make them legal now.

It can only help the U.S. in the future! We have so many millions here now and if we do it right it will be a win-win for us all! My 2 cents.

:fistbump:

[BreweryYardRat]

90. It's not like she made a choice to be an illegal immigrant.

She was an 8-year-old kid. Her parents brought her here. She didn't get a choice in the matter.

If she's got the talent to do well at college -- and given her GPA, she almost certainly does -- then she deserves to go.

You don't punish a child because the parent commits a crime.

(And before anyone jumps down my throat, given that they were living in a really violent region of Mexico and had already lost family members as a result, I can't muster any outrage about the parents flitting across the border.)

[EFerrari]

96. The parents' immigration violation is not a crime.

They violated administrative law, not criminal law.

[backscatter712]

112. Exactly. Their parents should be made to pay for their violation...

Which would come to a couple hundred dollars in fines...

That's it.

[yodoobo]

100. I would think that she would qualify for government assistance

from her home country.

The US is pretty stingy about financial aid, much more so than most other countries.

She should definitely apply to her home country for financial aid.


In any event, its ashame that the racist in our country refuse to provide her with the education she deserves.

[tekisui]

111. Good for her! She is living the American Dream.

I would love to hear more stories like this.

[alfredo]

123. People who risk everything to be here are the type of people we want in America.

[lumberjack_jeff]

131. What does that even mean?

Except for the obviously remote risk of being sent home, they didn't risk anything coming here.

Worst case scenario: being sent back. Staying in Jalisco and helping to fight the crime that does such damage to their community would have been "risking everything".

[blondeatlast]

137. "Didn't risk anything coming here?" Last I heard, the death toll from crossing the high Sonoran

desert was >5000--and that's only the ones we know about. Oh, btw, that's on OUR side of the border.

I should have gone with my first cthought--that youyr reply was too ignorant to waste time on. Ah, well.

[alfredo]

142. I'm not talking about just this case, I'm talking about people who are willing to

uproot themselves, leave the familiar and strike out on their own and build a new life.

The case of this girl, she didn't have much choice but to come to the US. If you were just a kid and your family decides to leave everything behind and move to a new country, do you have much choice in the matter?

[PufPuf23]

132. I have a friend who is an illegal alien who has lived in Berkeley her entire life

She was born on Quebec and her English father and Swedish mother came to Berkeley when she was a baby so Dad could attend seminary.

Her parents later divorced. Her Mom retired after many years in clerical for PG&E. Her Dad stills lives in Berkeley and her sister (who was born in Berkeley) teaches at an East coast university.

She graduated from Berkeley High School and has a BA from Cal Berkeley. The only time she was ever in Canada that she can remember was in 1986 when she went to her grandmother's funeral and to take care of estate matters (alone and nervous because of her status). Her CA Driver's License and very blond and blue eyed California young woman appearance raised no suspicion and was sufficient at the airport then.

Very few people know she is an illegal. I did because were lovers 85-87 and she fretted as she and her mother debated what to do. Her Mom (who spoke English with an accent, English being her third language) was afraid to make the trip. The grandmother had no other relatives except cousins and their families she had never met or had contact with in Sweden.

[truedelphi]

138. Has there not been an amnesty program that covered

her back in the late eighties or early nineties? (after you guys were together.)

She is probably now legit.

[grantcart]

140. I believe that the last all encompassing amnesty was in the 80s under Carter

And even that amnesty had a deadline so if you didn't apply you are now not eligible.

She could regularize her relationship if she marries a US citizen but besides that she is probably not legal.

[PufPuf23]

147. She was married in the early 90s but he passed away

I have not seen her since 2003 (funeral) nor talked to her by phone for 3 years or so, much less thought about her immigration status.

She lives in the same flat and has same phone number where her and sister and mom moved when her parents separated when she was in high school in the 70s. I could call her. "Hey are you still illegal?" lol That flat is her safe zone. The last time we spoke, she read a poem "Ode to Moe" that I had written when we buried her pet rat with the Benny Bufano sculpture as a head stone at Crocker Park in Piedmont the first night we spent together and 2nd official 'date'. I was too conservative for her and she would never consider leaving Berkeley and I had just entered the corporate period of my life.

It is funny how we met. I was a new MBA student at Cal and there was a Bank of America sponsored reception for new MBAs at the Faculty Club. There was a demonstration and many of us were siphoned into the Faculty Club via the kitchen. Later that night I went with a friend to the Ashkenaz dance club and we met and spent more nights together than apart the next 18 months. I was at the reception in coat and tie and she had been a demonstrator. I was familiar with Cal and Berkeley because I went to a nearby prep school for several years of high school, have a BS from Cal, and worked at a USDA Research Station then located in Berkeley before we met. The MBA was what I did when I resigned from the USDA during the Reagan Administration.

There are many parallels in the oil gusher and the Mineral Management Service and why I quit the USDA Forest Service in that Reagan made a mockery by policy of environmental laws (NEPA, NFMA, ESA, etc) passed under Nixon. I was USDA employed from 1969 to 1985.

[CreekDog]

150. Nope, there was another amnesty in 1986

championed by Republican Pete Wilson (later to be evil governor of California, running commercials that said, "they just keep coming" with images of Mexicans running across the border in the dark).

[amandabeech]

155. So, is she a Canadian citizen?

Canada's a great place. Lots of people here on DU were threatening to move their if McCain won. They have great programs and of course, the majority of the people speak English.

I've been to Sweden, and it looked pretty good, too. I'm wondering whether if she could get Swedish citizenship, she could live anywhere in the EU, since Sweden is an EU country. That would mean that she could live in the UK.

I know that it would be an adjustment, but would moving from Berkeley to Vancouver or Toronto be that much worse than my move from a rural Michigan hamlet to New York to get a job during the Reagan recession?

Or could her sister sponsor her for citizenship. On the other hand, her sister might want her to sponsor sister for Canadian citizenship!

[flamingdem]

141. Life is rarely fair. If she gets help to study another may not, how do we decide?

One thing is on her side. The UC universities are much cheaper than other top schools.

[DatManFromNawlins]

144. She should get in line like everyone else

Other people have done the right thing and gotten on track to become US citizens. She's old enough to make that decision for herself. We don't always get what we want just because we work hard for it. I know I sure as hell didn't.

[county worker]

148. You didn't so no one else should either.

That is rampant here at DU. If you don't have what you want no one else should have it either! Hate the rich, hate the illegals who get ahead, hate anybody who has it better than you!

[alarimer]

153. People like George W. Bush are at the head of that line.

People who are basically wastes of oxygen. He certainly got nowhere on his own merits. So we all compete with those people who get everything handed to them on a silver platter.

Life certainly is unfair. If it were Bush would be dead and lots of soldiers would be alive and unhurt. The ones that died in his pointless illegal war.

[flamingdem]

145. What if she arrived at age 18? Would there be equal sympathy?

There were some college students from Peru interviewed on CNN who are studying at City College and admitted to being illegal. They arrived as tourists and overstayed. When asked how they get by they said, a little here, a little there, buying and selling things.

I might try this too if I was in a country with less opportunity but therein lies the problem, the numbers who want in to a better life.

[EFerrari]

156. If you follow your thought all the way through, you ask why is life in Peru

not good and then you bump into the US (and Canada, in that case) arming the government against the people. :shrug:

[greencharlie]

149. Exceptions should always be made... she is a prime candidate. nt

[fatbuckel]

158. Why is she illegal,why it she not applying for citizenship?