Migration Policy Institute analysis of 2006-08 and 2008-10 census data. Graphic by Matt Wettengel

Without documents, immigrant students struggle to succeed

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The bus to the University of California at Los Angeles campus took two hours to travel a distance that would take 20 minutes by car. Sofia Campos took this bus ride twice a day during her first two years of college. As an illegal immigrant born in Lima, Peru, and brought to the U.S. when she was 6 years old, Campos can’t legally obtain a driver’s license. That’s just one of many inconveniences these students face when choosing to attend college. “We pretend when we see a cop pass by that we don’t get scared,” Campos said.

Obama signs bill that creates jobs, halts student loan interest rate rise

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WASHINGTON – President Barack Obamasigned into law a bill that he says will create or save millions of jobs and help millions of college students. Obama wore his traditional dark suit, brick-red tie and broad grin at Friday’s signing ceremony for the the bill Congress was pressured into passing last week. It will rebuild the country’s roadways, extend the National Flood Insurance Program and maintain student loan interest rates that were set to double. “This bill will keep thousands of construction workers on the job rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure,” Obama told the crowd of about 250 people in the East Room of the White House. “These steps will make a real difference in the lives of millions of Americans.”

The bipartisan bill, which takes effect immediately, authorizes $105 billion to be spent on road and transportation projects over the next 27 months.