Children of illegal immigrants fear parent disclosure on college financial aid form: report
Applying for college aid has become even more stressful for some students who are now afraid to “kick out” their undocumented parents on financial aid forms, as President-elect Donald Trump has promised mass deportationsaccording to a report by the Los Angeles Times.
“Why does Trump being elected mean that I may have to suffer as a citizen because of my parents’ choice to move to a better life in America?” one high school student, whose father immigrated illegally to the US from Guatemala 28 years ago, he told the newspaper.
The teenager and her father recently visited college counselor Lynda McGee, according to the report. Her father wanted McGee to help the student fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, the form known as the FAFSA, which schools use to calculate Pell grants, federal loans and other financial aid for students.
But the application requires parents’ Social Security numbers, and students and counselors fear that the missing entry could raise questions about immigration status.
“Unfortunately, I have dozens of students in the same situation,” McGee told the LA Times. “They have to choose between their future and their parents’ future.”
High school seniors whose parents are in the country illegally worry that the question of free application for federal student aid could raise concerns about their parents’ immigration status. (Jenna Watson/IndyStar via Imagn Content Services, LLC)
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According to data, about 5.1 million children of American citizens live with an undocumented family member American Immigration Councilpro-immigration group.
Trump has said he is prepared to declare a national emergency and potentially use military assets as part of a mass deportation effort. While the president says removing illegal immigrants who have committed crimes is a priority, his administration is ready to move on to law-abiding immigrants after that.
Although the guidelines from Institute for Education state that Social Security information is not shared for any purpose other than determining and awarding financial aid, college counselors and student advocacy groups warn students from “mixed-status families” that there may still be danger.
The National College Attainment Networka nonprofit student advocacy group, said it “cannot assure mixed-status students and families” that FAFSA information will continue to be protected “in light of the priorities publicly presented by the new administration.”
Donald Trump speaks with NBC News anchor Kristen Welker in his first interview since winning the election. (Screenshot/NBC)
“It’s already a stressful process navigating how to get into college and how to pay for it as a first-generation college student who is mostly doing it all on his own,” said the student, whose parents are undocumented immigrants from Puebla, Mexico. times. “But with this FAFSA confusion and the wait, it feels like my wings have been clipped.”
The Guatemalan father still wanted his daughter to apply for aid.
“Filling out the FAFSA may or may not hurt me. But if it can help her, she should do it,” he said, according to the Times.
In addition to targeting those in the country illegally, Trump has also long advocated ending it citizenship by birth via an executive order “on day one,” which would almost certainly be challenged on constitutional grounds.
When asked about the millions of American citizens living in mixed-status households on NBC news last month, Trump proposed deporting entire family units.
“I don’t want to break up families,” Trump said. “So the only way to not break up a family is to keep them together and you have to send them all back.”
Tom Homan, Trump’s “border czar,” floated the idea of putting illegal immigrant children in halfway houses as part of the incoming administration’s mass deportation plan. Alternatively, the president-elect proposed deporting American citizens along with their parents. (Mark Abramson/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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But the president-elect was softer on the “Dreamers,” who entered the U.S. as minors and were protected from deportation under Ranking from the Obama era.
“We have to do something about the Dreamers, because these are people who were brought here very young, and many of them are now middle-aged people, they don’t even speak the language of their country,” he said. he said, adding, “I will work with the Democrats on the plan.”
