For Keny Murillo Brizuela, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals programme – commonly known as DACA – is the reason he is able to attend UNC’s School of Medicine.
DACA protects undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children from deportation. Without the work permit that DACA provides, Brizuela says he couldn’t be hired as a doctor in the United States.
“If there was no DACA, I would just be another undocumented person with a medical degree,” he said.
Students United for Immigrant Equality at UNC, or SUIE, is currently accepting scholarship applications from people with DACA status. President Rosa Elias said the scholarship application opened at the end of October and will be available until 30 November.
SUIE hopes to award $500 scholarships to four or five recipients this year, although the exact number of recipients and awards will depend on the amount of funding received by the deadline. Elias said the funding comes from businesses in Chapel Hill, Greensboro, Asheboro and other surrounding areas.
“With that [funding], we’ve been able to raise more than $1,500,” she said.
Elias said one reason for the monetary goal is that DACA work permits cost $500 and must be renewed every two years. SUIE Co-Vice President Carolina Mendez said DACA recipients also have to pay out-of-state tuition, regardless of whether they are North Carolina residents.
Beyond the cost of higher education, Brizuela said being a DACA recipient comes with additional financial restrictions. For example, travelling out of the country requires an application for advance parole (I-131A), which comes with a $575 fee, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website.
“I think undocumented students are often overlooked in the school system, and we wanted to make sure that we were providing some sort of financial assistance for everything,” Mendez said.
In an emailed statement, UNC Media Relations said the university does not currently have any scholarships specifically for undocumented/DACA students and has no plans to create any in the near future. Undocumented students are also ineligible for federal financial aid, Media Relations said, and as a public university, UNC must follow these national guidelines.
Elias said there are about 141,000 DACA recipients in higher education in the country, and that students using the programme have to pay out-of-state tuition, housing and supplies, while most have jobs that coincide with their studies.
“It’s much more of a financial burden for them,” she said.
Mendez also pointed out that while work-study opportunities are available, they are limited. DACA students also typically have to go through employment sponsorship, which she said is a “very complicated process”.
Although the scholarship is now open to all DACA recipients, it began as an opportunity available only to UNC students. SUIE first expanded the scholarship to include all students with DACA and recently decided to award the scholarship to students and non-students in the United States, Elias said.
Applying for the SUIE scholarship isn’t complicated, Mendez said. Applicants must provide proof that they are DACA recipients and write essay responses to questions.
“It’s more of a way for us to get to know their stories,” she said.
Brizuela has previously donated a scholarship to a DACA recipient and said there’s always a sense of giving back to your community. He said he thought the SUIE scholarship was great.
“It’s great to know that SUIE is helping DACA recipients who may not have families or people in their lives to help them financially,” Brizuela said.
SUIE tries to help students in areas other than finances. While many students don’t want to talk about their immigration status, she said SUIE strives to create a community with open discourse and privacy.
“Every month we talk about a new immigration issue, a new policy, and spread awareness,” she said.
For those who use DACA, Brizuela’s advice is simple: “Be fearless.”
