Undocumented Students at CSUN

Undocumented students rejoiced back in 2001 after Assembly Bill 540 was enacted. The bill allowed undocumented students who attended high school in California to be eligible for in-state tuition.

As of last year it was estimated that there were 114 undocumented students, or AB 540 students, at CSUN. But that number cannot be confirmed as the CSU's don't keep track of AB 540 students.

Now these students are advocating for the California DREAM Act which would extend financial aid to certain undocumented students.

Nationally, of the 65,000 undocumented students that graduate high school, 25,000 are from California. They don’t have driver’s licenses, social security numbers or passports, which means they can't get a legal job or go into the military to pay for their higher education.

Last fall the DREAM Act came up for a vote in the Senate and many students traveled to the Nation's capitol to advocate for themselves, however it was shot down.

Compared to the 60's and 70's undocumented students protests are very mellow, but that's okay said Jorge Garcia the advisor for DREAM's to be Heard, an organization at CSUN that provides support to AB 540 students.

"Back when we were protesting in college it was very different because we grew up in a very different environment and we can't expect our current students to do the same," said Garcia, who is a Chicano Studies professor. "They're protesting in a way that fits the times."

Garcia recalls different methods that they used back in the 60's to shut down the CSU's. One example was when they threw a molotov at the CSU's main computer system. The governor, Regan at the time, shut down all of the CSU's immediately.

President of DREAM's to be Heard, Pedro, agrees that it's very difficult be an aggressive protestor because it not only jeoperdizes them, but their families as well.

"I'm undocumented and so are my family members so if I'm on everybody's radar I can put my family in danger," Pedro said.

While they do participate in protests, they're not going to bomb the CSU's computers system anytime soon said Pedro.

Pedro recently participated in a hunger strike in Downtown Los Angeles to draw President elects attention to the plight of the undocumented community.

"Every little thing we do counts and we're going to keep fighting until we pass the DREAM Act," Pedro said.

There are many people who are opposed to the DREAM Act, but Lizbeth Mateo AB 540 student and CSUN alumni doesn't deal with them. (Listen to Lizbeth's response HERE)

Still they continue to fight for the right to become functioning members of soc