Starting this semester, students admitted to Georgia State were re*quired to prove they were legal resi*dents before enrolling in classes.
According to university spokes*person Andrea Jones, the university has barred one student from enroll*ment due to documentation problems Out of the more than 10,000 stu*dents granted preliminary acceptance to the five most academically competi*tive schools in Georgia, college officials were surprised that the number of stu*dents barred was not higher. They do not know whether the new Board of Regents rule deterred immigrants from applying or if they did not have plans to apply previously. Adopted last October, the rule blocks illegal immigrants from enroll*ing in any of the 35 University System of Georgia schools that have turned away academically qualified students in the past two years. At Georgia Tech this spring, officials canceled applications from three illegal immigrants, spokesman Matt Nagel told the AJC. Admissions officers who were reviewing undergraduate appli*cations learned the three academically qualified students were illegal immi*grants and directed them to other col*leges. The University of Georgia, Geor*gia College & State University and Georgia Health Sciences University are the three other colleges affected by the rule that have yet to turn away poten*tial students because of their immigra*tion status. "The numbers denied admission to the five institutions prohibited from admitting undocumented students speak for themselves," Regents Chair*man Ben Tarbutton told the AJC.
Colleges cleared most of student's legal residency through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The program requires stu*dents to submit their social security number and about 90 percent of col*lege students applied for this aid. If students did not apply through this program, colleges in*structed them to provide a certified copy of their birth certificate or oth*er certified documentation. Even though the negative ef*fects of illegal immigration on the University System is relatively un*known, particularly following the Board of Regent's new rule, some lawmakers like Rep. Tom Price (R) think that the rule is not enough. Instead, he would have all illegal immigrants barred from public col*leges and introduced legislation towards that goal this past seces*sion, although it did not pass either chamber of the legislature.
Georgia is not the only state to ban illegal immigrants from enroll*ing in public colleges. Alabama and South Carolina also ban illegal im*migrants from enrolling in public universities.Alejandro Galeano, a student at the University of Georgia, conduct*ed a graduation ceremony of resis*tance on Aug. 23, as a protest against the Board of Regents' decision to ban academically qualified students from attending Georgia's top five public universities solely based on their immigration status.
"I am having to fight for my education now, and failure is not an option," Galeano said. "This is the Athens community, not the Athens-white, Athens-black or Athens-any*thing. It is Athens, and all the peo*ple here are equal. Once you start targeting a certain subgroup, such as the immigrant community, it be*comes racism and prejudice."
