Immigrant high school graduates seek a pathway to U.S. citizenship
|
EL PASO, Texas — Many of the 65,000 illegal immigrants who graduate from high school in the U.S. every year live under the entrapment radar, risking deportation at any time as they attempt to attend college or serve in the U.S. military services. According to statistics from the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), most of these students in all grade levels have been raised in America, in American public school systems, American cities. Many only speak English and the American culture is what they know. They have little left of their culture of origin. “It’s a very sad experience to forget where you came from because you’re accustomed to life here. You could hardly remember that you came here from another country,” said a student who wishes to remain anonymous. The student at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is an illegal immigrant because, like the thousands of illegal high school students who graduate every year in the U.S., this student was not brought to America by choice. The parents made that choice. “It’s a difficult situation.