Undocumented Student Advantages

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Undocumented students are defined as individuals who are not legal citizens of the United States. Undocumented students are not eligible for federal financial aid. However, state and private college aid may be available. Given that the bulk of student aid comes from federal sources, this puts undocumented students at a disadvantage when it comes to seeking a higher education. FAFSA is the most common method of applying for financial aid in the manner of loans, scholarships, and grants. However, to apply for FAFSA one must have a social security number (Gonzales 7). This bars undocumented students from even being able to accept certain merit scholarships and education loans. Thus, equal opportunity to a college education is made difficult due to financial …show more content…
While many scholars support the need for undocumented students to receive federal aid to obtain their education resulting in them becoming productive citizens in society, others oppose financial aid for undocumented students because it takes away resources and creates unnecessary competition for legalized citizens. Financial aid is highly competitive, with the majority of American citizens struggling to afford college tuition. 71% of undergraduate students from the …show more content…
Furthermore, it is unfair to legal citizens. Greater competition for financial aid and general enrollment slots would be created by granting aid to undocumented persons. Granting in-state-tuition rates and other incentives encourages immigrants to remain in the U.S. illegally. In following, many argue the legality of federal aid in correlation with Section 505 of IIRIRA and Section 401 of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) which states that an “alien who is not a qualified alien is not eligible for any public benefit (Abrego

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