North Carolina Community College System policy on admission of undocumented students

The only way an undocumented student could enroll in a North Carolina Community College is if they met one of three criteria listed and they paid out-of-state tuition.

This policy gave each individual North Carolina community college the discretion to choose to enroll undocumented students or deny them.

This second policy "permitted the enrollment of undocumented non-immigrant applicants to curriculum, continuing education, and basic skills programs and required qualifying undocumented non-immigrants to pay out-of-state tuition [4] Three years later, on November 7, 2007, the board issued a third memorandum stating "All colleges are to maintain an open-door admission policy to all applicants who are high school graduates or who are at least 18 years of age".

In this letter the NCCCS is asking if their policy allowing undocumented students into North Carolina's Community Colleges is in compliance with Federal and State law.

In response to the NCCCS's letter, the North Carolina Attorney General's office advised the board to return to their December 21, 2001, policy because it "would more likely withstand judicial scrutiny".

[4] In response to Governor Easley's suggestion, the board replied to the Attorney General asking them to seek federal advice from The Department of Homeland Security.

[9] While awaiting response from Homeland Security, the NCCCS board issued a fourth memo on May 13, 2008, stating: ... colleges should admit or enroll undocumented or illegal aliens only as follows: Undocumented or illegal aliens who are high school students may enroll in college level courses, Undocumented or illegal aliens may enroll in non-college level courses or programs including GED preparation courses, Adult Basic Education, Adult High School, English as a Second Language and other continuing education courses less than college level, and/or Undocumented or battered illegal aliens who have been determined to meet one of the qualifying conditions set forth in Federal Law, 8 USC Section 1641.This policy was intended to be a temporary policy until the board could find out what would be best for them and the state of North Carolina.

[8] Worried about public and judicial scrutiny, General Counsel Q. Shante Martin asked the North Carolina Attorney General on May 9, 2008, to consult the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security for guidance "on the issue of the admission of undocumented or illegal aliens to local community colleges when state law does not affirmatively provide for such eligibility".

[10]: 128  The North Carolina Attorney General's office requested clarification on May 28, 2008,[11] and the Department of Homeland Security responded on July 9, 2008, stating The admissions to public post-secondary educational institutions is not one of the benefits regulated by the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 and is not a public benefit under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996.

There were concerns from Senator Phil Berger (who was the Republican Leader of the North Carolina Senate at the time), then-Lieutenant Governor Bev Perdue, and North Carolina residents asking the NCCCS board to maintain their admission policy prohibiting undocumented students until they figure out a long-term policy.

The reasons for this research were to address the issues dealing with the admission of undocumented students and to determine an adequate, long-term policy for the State of North Carolina.

In this report, JBL Associates and Powers, Pyles, Sutter & Verville split up the work to complete an analysis of different state policies on the admission of undocumented students in public schools of higher education across the nation and to calculate the local and state resources needed to support a full-time undocumented student.

The states researched and surveyed were "Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, New Mexico, New York, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia".

[4] The next method, access/high cost, allows for any undocumented student to enter into the community college system, but they must pay out-of-state tuition.

The positives of this method for North Carolina are that there will not be a tax payer burden, there will be no need to change legislation, and it reduces the risk of legal challenge.

The negatives are that if undocumented students cannot afford the tuition, then they will not be going to college and potentially be what Texas Governor Rick Perry describes "a drag on our society".

The negatives are that there is no access to higher education for undocumented students, there will be an increase for verification costs for the SAVE program, and a cause for regulatory change for the state.

To follow the UNC System in the way that they handle undocumented students, the NCCCS would be implementing policy differently from previous practice.

This fifth policy that is meant to be long-term was legitimized through a memo delivered to all fifty-eight community colleges stating the terms of admission for undocumented students.

The NCCCS is a non-profit corporation who formulates the policies and implements them in the community colleges while at the same time abiding by the laws of North Carolina.

The purpose of the DREAM Act is to "help those individuals who meet certain requirements, have an opportunity to enlist in the military or go to college and have a path to citizenship which they otherwise would not have without this legislation".

[20] So far only eleven states have passed legislation that has allowed illegal aliens to attend college at the in-state tuition rate: California, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin.