2/15/10
Article on the use of new media to inform readers about the book, "We ARE Americans."

January 2010

11-12-09

Book signing and panel discussion about immigration reform at Cal State LA on 11-12-09 from 10am-1pm. Panelists includes congresswoman Judi Chu.

11-5-09

We ARE Americans: Undocumented Students Pursuing the American Dream," receives the 2009 Mildred Garcia Award for Exemplary Scholarship from the Council on Ethnic Participation of the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE).

11/2009

Article published in the November 2009 edition of the CGU Flame Magazine entitled, "Can Undocumented Students Earn the Right to be Recognized as Americans?"

As I follow the comments posted on articles or news features that discuss the merits of providing access to higher education to undocumented students or providing a path to legalization to bright students through the DREAM Act I’m struck by the complete disregard of the evidence presented. Rather, these critics rely on their own misconceptions, misinformation, and animosity and disdain for decent human beings who are often exploited by American society. In complete disregard of the economic push/pull factors that bring them to the U.S. along with unscrupulous practices of American companies that often lure them here, their sole view of undocumented individuals is that of “lawbreakers” who don’t deserve the same opportunities as the rest of us despite their social and economic contributions to American society. By that logic, the 11 million Americans with a misdemeanor record or the 50 million Americans with a criminal record should also be treated as “lawbreakers” with curtailed civil and legal rights regardless of their contributions to society. Clearly this is an absurd logic, and the Constitution ensures that we are protected from this flawed way of thinking. Individuals with a criminal record are more than just a crime statistic. They are husbands, wives, sons, daughters, and contributing members of society, and as such they are not judged solely by their encounter with the legal justice system.

Another theme in the negative comments posted here is that immigrants should be sent back to their country of origin. What these individuals fail to recognize, in addition to the gross violation of constitutional and human rights,  is that such efforts, even if they were feasible, would bear a tremendous cost on all of us. The cost of deporting the 12 million undocumented persons living in the United States is estimated to range between 206-230 billion dollars. Building a 700 mile border fence would cost an additional 6-8 billion dollars. To those of you who articulate this position I pose to you? Are you willing to have your taxes raised to pay for this? Is your disdain for decent human beings greater than your disdain for higher taxes? Are you willing to cut your nose to spite your face?

 We must not forget that these extreme voices of hate and ignorance are in the minority. Even if they have ambivalent attitudes about undocumented persons, most Americans favor providing a path to legalization. As recent as April 2009, A CBS/New York Times Poll indicated that 65% of Americans favor providing legal status to the undocumented population, while an ABC News/Washington Post poll also conducted in April 2009 finds that 61% support legalization. In 2006, A FOX News/Opinion Dynamics Poll similarly reports 63% of Americans favoring legalization for the undocumented population. We must not allow these extreme hateful minority voices to hijack democracy. The majority of Americans agree on the best course of action and politicians must be responsive to the views of the majority instead the extremist minority. The vast body of research and social science evidence which I describe in my recent book, “We ARE Americans: Undocumented Students Pursuing the American Dream,” (Stylus, 2009), makes the compelling point that it is in all of our best interest to provide a path to legalization to undocumented students through the DREAM Act as soon as possible and to address the legal situation of undocumented workers through comprehensive immigration reform legislation.

In closing, I would like to address the short-sighted concerns of those that fear that providing access to higher education to undocumented students will displace U.S. citizens. First of all, in terms of their civic contributions to American society there are no differences between citizen and non-citizen college-going youth. In fact, my research suggests that the civic contributions of undocumented youth may be higher than their citizen-counterparts. Secondly, data available in the states that have provided access to higher education to college-eligible undocumented students indicate that they have not displaced citizen-students and only represent a tiny fraction of the overall student population. Finally, in developing our views about the merits of providing access to higher education and citizenship to college-eligible undocumented, we must think beyond our own immediate needs and consider the greater good. For example, the United States has a policy of granting citizenship to foreign nationals who can demonstrate that they will invest in the united states economy and provide jobs to American citizens. Many high achieving undocumented students, like the ones I profile in my book, “We ARE Americans,” demonstrate that they are fully capable of excelling academically and developing into successful entrepreneurs that will create jobs for countless American citizens. They exhibit the same level of drive and determination that led famous immigrants to the united states such as Jerry Yang, the co-founder of Yahoo or Sergei Brin, the co-founder of Google to create fortune 500 companies that employ thousands of American workers and donate millions of dollars to social causes. In the face of overwhelming social science evidence and public support for providing access to higher education and a path to legalization to the undocumented, we must take the pragmatic approach and not continue with our current policies of exclusion based on irrational fears.

Undocumented students deserve shot at American Dream 

by William Perez, Ph.D.

The Urban Institute estimates that there are approximately 3.4 million children and young adults under the age of 24 living in the United States who are undocumented. The 1982 Supreme Court ruling Plyer v. Doe guarantees all of them education through 12th grade, and 65,000 graduate high school every year.

But after high school, they suddenly find themselves ineligible for any government support for higher education -- virtually guaranteeing that the public investment in their K-12 schooling is squandered.

I was stunned to find how little research has been done on these students and their situation to inform discussions about the merits of passing the DREAM Act so I decided to fill the gap...

I will be doing a book reading and signing at Vromans Bookstore in Pasadena on Wednesday September 9th from 7-9pm.

Click on the NPR logo to listen to the segment about the book, We ARE Americans aired August 22, 2009.