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Undocumented Students Pursuing the American Dream
Stylus Publishing
October 2009
On Sale: October 1, 2009
200 pages
ISBN: 1579223761
EAN: 9781579223762
Paperback
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Non-Fiction
About 2.4 million children and young adults under 24 years
of age are undocumented. Brought by their parents to the US
as minors—many before they had reached their teens—they
account for about one-sixth of the total undocumented
population. Illegal through no fault of their own, some
65,000 undocumented students graduate from the nation's
high schools each year. They cannot get a legal job, and
face enormous barriers trying to enter college to better
themselves—and yet America is the only country they know
and, for many, English is the only language they speak. What future do they have? Why are we not capitalizing, as a
nation, on this pool of talent that has so much to
contribute? What should we be doing? Through the inspiring stories of sixteen students—from
seniors at high school to graduate students—William Perez
gives voice to the estimated 2.4 million undocumented
students in the United States, and draws attention to their
plight. These stories reveal how—despite financial
hardship, the unpredictability of living with the daily
threat of deportation, restrictions of all sorts, and often
in the face of discrimination by their teachers—so many are
not just persisting in the American educational system, but
achieving academically, and moreover often participating in
service to their local communities. Perez reveals what
drives these young people, and the visions they have for
contributing to the country they call home. Through these stories, this book draws attention to these
students’ predicament, to stimulate the debate about
putting right a wrong not of their making, and to motivate
more people to call for legislation, like the stalled Dream
Act, that would offer undocumented students who participate
in the economy and civil life a path to citizenship. Perez goes beyond this to discuss the social and policy
issues of immigration reform. He dispels myths about
illegal immigrants’ supposed drain on state and federal
resources, providing authoritative evidence to the
contrary. He cogently makes the case—on economic, social,
and constitutional and moral grounds—for more flexible
policies towards undocumented immigrants. If today’s
immigrants, like those of past generations, are a positive
force for our society, how much truer is that where
undocumented students are concerned?
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