Matias Makes a Difference
Matias traveled legally from Argentina to the United States 10 years ago with his family, all of whom entered the country with a tourist visa. At the time, Argentina — one of the most financially developed countries in South America — was hit with a severe recession and 25 percent unemployment. His parents decided not to return.
While his parents struggled to find work of any kind to support their family, Matias worked to become a good student, a leader in his church and editor of his school’s yearbook. After Matias scored well on the SAT®, one of his teachers encouraged him to apply to the University of California. He was accepted to UCLA, but thought that he wouldn’t be able to afford to attend.
Although most state institutions charge undocumented students out-of-state tuition, California passed a law (AB540) in 2001 that allows undocumented students who have passed through the state’s schools to pay in-state tuition. “At UCLA, out-of-state tuition is about $25,000 a year, putting it well out of reach for most immigrant families,” said Matias. “By contrast, in-state tuition is about $8,000 a year, making a college education more of an attainable reality.” When Matias decided to visit UCLA, he was received by a group of undocumented AB540 students, known as IDEAS, who encouraged him to apply for scholarships, work part-time and ask his community for support.
While at UCLA, Matias became involved with IDEAS, which eventually joined state- and nationwide networks of student-based organizations working to create and influence public policy that helps undocumented students. Even after graduating from UCLA, Matias is still working tirelessly for the passage of the federal DREAM (Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors) Act. In this new effort, the United We Dream coalition has launched a national online petition, which can be found at www.dreamact2009.com.
For now, he’s happy working to get this national legislation passed so that the path will be a bit easier for the undocumented students who follow him. Matias still hopes to be a journalist or lawyer, focusing on issues of social injustice. Mostly, though, he just wants to be a fully participating member of his adopted country.
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