NAKASEC statement on North Carolina Community College System ban

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 15, 2008

Contacts:
EunSook Lee, NAKASEC, 323-937-3703, ext. 206
Becky Bae, NAKASEC, 323-937-3703, ext. 209

(Los Angeles, CA) The National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC) and its affiliates are deeply disappointed and angered by North Carolina Community College System’s decision to no longer admit undocumented students into degreed programs. No other state in the country bars qualified applicants from applying to community colleges based on their immigration status.“What the NCCCS has done is simply mean-spirited and irrational. Our nation’s most precious resource and promise for prosperity lie with our young people. While NCCCS boasts that is internationally recognized for the scope and quality of its program, it can now add that it openly adheres to discriminatory practices against aspiring young immigrant students. It also reveals a dangerous misunderstanding of our nation’s immigration laws,” stated EunSook Lee, Executive Director, NAKASEC.This decision came despite a statement from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) which states, in part:

“The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) does not require any school to determine a student’s status (i.e. whether or not he or not he or she is legally allowed to study). DHS also not require any school to request immigration status information prior to enrolling students or to report to the government if they know a student is out of status, except in the case of those who came on student visas or for exchange purposes and are registered with the Student Exchange and Visitor Program.”Anti-immigrant measures take on many forms. This particular decision by NCCCS to deny access to a basic human right, such as education, is detrimental to the building of a prosperous nation. It also undermines the fundamental and long-held American value of equality.Rather than bowing down to vocal anti-immigrant extremists, it is incumbent that governments at all levels safeguard the health, education, and progress of all who live and contribute to this nation. NAKASEC and its affiliates are committed to the realization of America’s social compact with immigrants for the very future prosperity and security of America.