The first day of the Biden Administration saw 17 executive orders signed – six of which dealt with immigration. For UNC group UndocuCarolina, this news brought a sense of hope for undocumented members of the campus community.
One of President Joe Biden’s initial plans with immigration was to unwind some of the Former Trump Administration policies. This included halting work on the border wall, lifting the travel ban on people from several predominantly Muslim countries and reversing plans to exclude people in the country illegally from being counted in the 2020 census.
In North Carolina, roughly 15 percent of residents are immigrants or children of immigrants. Nearly 150,000 of those people are undocumented, college-aged, young adults.
Angela Stuesse, an Associate Professor of Anthropology and Global Studies at UNC, is on the leadership team for UndocuCarolina. She hopes they can help undocumented students who are pursuing degrees at UNC.
“North Carolina has really led the South as a new immigrant destination. We’re really focused on building a culture of belonging regardless of documentation status,” Stuesse said.
There is no federal or North Carolina law prohibiting admission of undocumented immigrants to U.S. colleges public or private. North Carolina does not, however, grant undocumented or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival also known as DACA students in-state tuition.
Undocumented students are also ineligible for federal financial aid. This means at UNC they would be responsible for over 17 thousand dollars in tuition and fees per semester.
A Biden plan could help change this. His immigration bill proposal included a plan to give legal status and a path to citizenship to anyone in the United States prior to January 1. This affects an estimated 11 million people and would reduce time family members would have to wait for Green cards to enter.
Biden also announced efforts to preserve DACA and a 100-day moratorium on deportations in the United States.
Stuesse said the effect has been felt across the country.
“It’s had an immediate effect in terms of especially the 100 day moratorium on deportation for most people who are undocumented in the US and preserving DACA. I think this has given a lot of hope to folks. I feel like there’s a sense of momentum for immigrant justice issues broadly and at UndocuCarolina we’re also hopeful,” Stuesse said.
Stuesse says she is hopeful to see bipartisan legislative action during the Biden administration to allow undocumented people to come out of the shadows and rejoin the community.
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