The right to an affordable education should be a smooth process, however it is anything but. Undocumented students or those with undocumented parents face obstacles.
The cost of attending college is a struggle for many Americans. According to the Education Data Initiative almost 90% of first year undergraduate students depend on financial aid to attend college. A good chunk of that aid is federal, which is unavailable to undocumented students.
This group of students is limited to state aid, school aid, or private scholarships. These forms of aid vary from state to state and tend to have many restrictions.
The American Immigration Council cites that approximately 1 in 50 students are undocumented.
Undocumented students are just as capable as their peers of creating a lasting impact on American society and should be treated as such by the government. The American Immigration Council states that three out of four undocumented students came to the U.S. at a young age.
These students have lived most of their life in America and are denied support when pursuing education to contribute to their communities.
A thriving society is an educated society. The more people with access to an education the more opportunities there are for collective growth. A country needs to be continuously investing in education if it aims to be successful.
In 2022 25-34-year-olds who had full times jobs and attained higher education had higher earning rate versus those workers who did not.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, “The median earnings of those with a master’s or higher degree ($80,200) were 20 percent higher than the earnings of those with a bachelor’s degree ($66,600). In the same year,the median earnings of those with a bachelor’s degree were 59 percent higher than the earnings of those who completed high school ($41,800).”
If industry and the States are putting an emphasis on workforce readiness, the area to start making sure that we are educating everyone and increasing the median income of citizens. The best way to do this is through education and promoting higher wages which go hand in hand.
Many students who are full of potential and looking for better opportunities are being turned away due to hurdles in getting education funding or DEI bans.
Private businesses comply with DEI and want to hire a diverse workforce to have a dynamic group of people with different views. This is why students take humanities courses in college to obtain a well-rounded starting point that helps
them interact with their community and workforce.
The children of undocumented students won’t be able to do this if FAFSA and The State of Texas continues to put roadblocks in their path. They make it harder for historically marginalized people like women, people of color and undocumented students to further their education and close the gap between them and those who traditionally have had no problem get-
ting education.
Students that are struggling to pay for tuition should reach out early and often to the financial aid department about how to get their FAFSA documents filled out and submitted. There are multiple avenues of funding available in the way of scholarships from TCC and outside scholarships.
The government needs to do a better job of helping students navi- gate the challenges of getting an affordable education. The process should be as uncomplicated as possible, regardless of citizenship status.
