Photo by Andrew Rogers

Fearing deportation as she drives 20-45 minutes a day without documentation, this student steps into a hazy future.

The two young women, both students at the University of Texas,  sat closely together, watching their home television screen, each number representing a solid step forward.

"50..."

I'll finally be able to go to college without fear.

"51..."

I'll  no longer be part of a  negative statistic.

"52..."

I'll finally be considered an American.

They froze waiting to hear number sixty.

It never came. The senators left the room. Another option in educational equity closed. The bill fell short,  rejected — 52 to 44 . With it went all their hard work.

The Dream Act went down on October 24, 2007. First introduced in 2005 by Senator Richard Durbin (D. IL), it aims to solve the legal problems of undocumented individuals by granting college opportunity as a path toward citizenship. Another avenue is provided through military service.

Meanwhile,  undocumented students in Texas can study under House Bill 1403, an alternative legal only in seven states. It grants undocumented students who meet certain criteria access to in-state tuition at public institutions of higher learning and allows them state financial aid. Later amended as Senate Bill 1528, only 9,062 students qualified under these two provisions in fall 2007. The UT International Office estimates that about 300 attend the Unviersity of Texas at Austin.

Neither law guarantees citizenship after college.  Both leave students unable to obtain Social Security cards. That makes them highly vulnerable to serious risks as they work towards a degree — and unemployable after graduation. Meanwhile, without these documents they can neither drive legally or buy insurance.

"It feels horrible. You come here, and this is supposed to be the country of freedom (where) everybody gets to pursue the American dream," said Karla, a senior, after the count (her name has been changed to protect privacy).  "All of a sudden I realize, that I don't have a decision over my life. Someone else is controlling whether I should get an education. People that decide what I have to do, have no idea of what I'm going through, have no idea I even exist. They probably don't even know anybody in this situation."

Karla's undocumented parents brought her to the United States at the age of ten.  

The Dream Act's requirements state that those who entered the United States five years prior to the passage of the legislation and were under the age of 16 at the time of entry are eligible for a six-year conditional residency status subject to continued attendance at a community college or university leading to an associate college degree, or a two year participation in the military. This conditional status provides those eligible an opportunity to work by issuing them a Social Security card with the condition that they remain within the Untied States. If the applicant demonstrates good moral character, at the end of the six-year mark, the applicant can apply for U.S. citizenship.

Because Karla lacks a Social Security number, she cannot rent near campus. So she lives with family members. Because the State of Texas denies licenses to those without such documents, she drives 20 to 45 minutes daily each way hoping not to be stopped by an official.  Otherwise she could face deportation. Because she has no driver's license, she cannot get insurance.

The Real ID Act, implemented in 2005, makes the process even more difficult. This federal law imposed certain security, authentication and issuance procedures for the state driver's licenses and state ID cards. It asks individuals to show state identification in places like commercially operated airline flights.

Now a year after the Dream Act was defeated, Karla — like the other 65,000 undocumented students who graduate from high school every year — remains trapped between two worlds. The negative world that binds her to tainted stereotypes and limited mobility and the world she is trying to reach. For Karla, deportation risk becomes increasingly threatening — sometimes from totally unexpected places.

According to reports by the Immigration and Customs Center (ICE) this year saw a rise in the number of deportations across the nation — more than 345,000 individuals compared to 288,000 in 2007. The crack down is well known.

Last May, Karla and another young woman tried to move closer to campus with another student. Their future roommate was approved first and signed the contract. When the other two were declined because of their undocumented status, the roommate demanded that each of them give her a significant  payment for rent anyway.

The roommate's mother threatened to call the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)  and have them deported. Finding legal representation either on campus or off proved difficult.

"The University had nowhere we could turn to. You are constantly living with fear.  But what I want to do is here- this is where I want to form my family, this is where I want to have my kids. This is where I want them to go to school."

"The University had nowhere we could turn to," Karla said. "You are  constantly living with fear.  But what I want to do is here — this is where I  want  to form my family, this is where I want to have my kids. This is where I want  them to go to school."

 Attorney Jeff Graves from the UT legal services said that while the University  does not provide protection, the administration can not release information  without first consulting the student. ICE officers can enter campus just like  any other law enforcement when investigating something within their  jurisdiction. If they seize an undocumented student, his or her recourse would  be the same on or off campus.

 "There is no magic protection provided by being a student or by being on campus," Graves said.  "However, that does not mean that the University would affirmatively assist in locating or identifying students. ICE officers have no greater or lesser rights than any other law enforcement officer (police officers).

"In general, in order to obtain non-directory information on any student, undocumented or not, a class schedule, or documents from the International Office on student status, law enforcement officers must present us with either a health or safety emergency sufficient to trigger the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) health and safety exception, he said. "Or they must have a valid court order or subpoena. Even the latter will only get them the information after we have notified the student, unless the order contains a clause saying that we are not to notify the student."

The legal services on campus did not provide Karla with any  list of attorneys or organizations that could help her. They did refer her to some immigration attorneys. But Karla  worried that she could not pay a fee.

The situation was finally resolved without conflict, but still, Karla is reminded daily of her dangerous legal status. But her vulnerability remains unseen.

"People don't usually see me as an immigrant," Karla said. "When people don't know of my situation, the whole immigration thing doesn't cross their minds. Their image of an immigrant is someone who works in construction or as a maid. They don't think of someone getting an education as I am."

While various senators like Kay Baily Hutchison (R-TX) backed the Dream Act in 2007,  Texas Senator Cornyn voted against it. He argued that this legislation would allow criminals to have a legalized status and that the bill would count attendance, rather than a set graduation date from college, as a requirement for eligibility.

"This was a difficult vote because I have a great deal of sympathy for the plight of children who have no moral culpability for being in this country illegally," John Cornyn said in a press release the day the Dream Act failed. "Unfortunately, this bill had nothing to do with helping children or addressing the critical issue of immigration reform, and everything to do with political posturing and partisan gamesmanship by the Senate Democratic leadership. This is a hot-button issue that divides our country. I don't think the solution is to do piecemeal legislation that solves one group's problems at the expense of a comprehensive bill."

Photo by Andrew Rogers

As graduation draws near, the over 300 students under House Bill 1403 on campus, ponder their truncated opportunities. 

Karla believes The Dream Act represents her only hope for becoming a citizen. She points out that this legislation differs from any other by using education as an incentive.  Highly motivated, Karla carries a double major — RTF and Spanish Literature.  She knows that  citizenship provides the only way for her to successfully enter a competitive workforce. Currently an active participant of politics, she  travels to Washington D.C. on a bus frequently to lobby for the Dream Act.

Karla also aspires to one day begin her own non-profit organization to focus on educating about immigration issues.

"After graduating our options are very limited," Karla said. "We can't get good jobs because we don't have a Social Security number. I have many friends with degrees in nursing and who have masters that are just sitting at home babysitting because they don't have the necessary papers. I have other friends who, after hearing the Dream Act hadn't passed, got married to US citizens. That is my worst case scenario.

"I want to be able to work and practice my profession. I have been studying for the past four years. The closer I get to graduation the more I have to worry, the more the Dream Act is in my head."

Marisol Medrano, president of campus based University Leadership Initiative, an organization that raises awareness about the issues of undocumented students, believes the real problem involves a lack of information between the many parties involved like senators, students and counselors. She believes this gulf leads many students to drop out of school.

A MALDEF study in 2002, estimated the dropout rate among immigrant Latinos over 16, at 44.2%.

"It's really sad when you have  [undocumented] valedictorians from a high school who are unaware they can actually go to college," Medrano said.  "If they do not know that colllege is an option for them they may question why they should continue studying if there is nothing out there for them."

Some oppose the Dream Act saying it is too costly. The Texas Education Agency reports that, during 2004-05, the average state and local expenditure per student was $7,085, excluding federal funds. Considering the estimated number of undocumented immigrant youth in public schools, the Comptroller indicated that the cost of educating these students in 2004-05 was slightly less than $957 million.

The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) argues that these costs are even higher. Additional increases in enrollment and cost per student since the year 2000, would bring this figure  in Texas to $1.7 billion for the 2003-04 school year.

Without a future after earning a degree, this money goes to waste  The  League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) supports the Dream Act. District 3 Young Adult Deputy Director, Ramiro Luna, hopes to change these negative statistics by raising the Dream Act's visibility  The first step cost him more than $4,000 and almost his car. But he purchased the dreamact.com domain.

"I am working on the platform that will harmonize our efforts and mobilize our supporters," Luna said. "I'm making sure the highest quality website will help to mobilize people at a national level, so we can finally get the attention we deserve."

By mid-January Luna plans to have the first phase of the movement complete.

A first step is to make sure students know about the college option. As college students, Luna believes they can appreciate the value of education and understand the positive impact that education can have not only in their lives but for the country as a whole.

Documentary director, Phillip Rodriguez who recently produced "Latinos '08," a film focusing on the Latino impact on the presidential election, believes immigration will become even more of an issue.

"America is changing, going through the most profound demographical transformation since the Europeans (immigrated)," Rodriguez said. "Latinos are more critical in 2008 than ever before, remaking the story of the United States and  changing the pattern of history."

Resistance to this change can also put the "Dream Actors" at risk. An article in civilrights.org, quotes Devin Burghart, Director of the Building Democracy Initiative with The Center for New Community. He  points to the 600% increase of anti-immigration groups between January 2005 and January 2007. Two- thirds had ties to white supremacist groups.

According to stop-the-hate.org, recent Federal Bureau of Investigation Hate Crime Statistics Report showed a significant increase in hate crimes committed against Latinos in the United States between 2004 and 2006. In 2006, Latinos constituted 62.8% of such  victims compared to 51.5% in 2004.

University Democrats President Zack Hall at UT believes that undocumented individuals affect society positively.

"I look at all these families and all these kids the Dream Act would help. They want  to work hard,  to get educated and still we're denying that to them?," Hall said.  "It makes no sense. I look at my role in all this as an advocate. It's time for us as privileged people to do more to insure that the American dream is not just a dream but it is a reality."

Hall said that given what unauthorized immigrants contribute economically , it seems only fair. According to a New York Times article in April 2005,  the estimated seven million or so of these workers now provide the Social Security system with a subsidy of about $7 billion a year.

Another study by the Social Security Administration showed that although undocumented immigrants compose only 3% of the total U.S. population, the money paid by them in 2004 added up to about 10% of that year's surplus.

"I think we have to evaluate what is America and who are Americans," Hall said. "We still have a long ways to go to change our attitudes and I think our generation is going ...to say, if you work hard, if you contribute you should get to be an American."

A Zogby poll conducted October 17-20  indicates that Hall's progressive sentiments might be spreading. It is a position taken by the Catholic Church with some clear results — 69% of 1000 self identified Roman Catholics supported a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants if they register with the government; 62% supported the concept if they were required to learn English.

The Dream Act will most likely be reintroduced next summer, until then, all Karla and her counterparts on campus can do is wait.