College of Southern Nevada creates scholarship for undocumented immigrants

Led by the efforts of student body president Brenda Romero, the College of Southern Nevada has created a scholarship to benefit undocumented immigrants — expanding statewide efforts aimed at making college more accessible for Nevadans living in the shadows.

The award, called the CSN Dream Scholarship, may go to two CSN students who benefit from the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which grants work authorization and deportation relief to certain undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children.

A handful of other scholarship programs across Nevada already benefit DACA recipients, but few have been specifically created for them. Undocumented students often struggle to pay for college because they are ineligible for federal assistance, ruling out the bulk of available financial aid.

“I’m undocumented. I have DACA, and I’ve gone through that struggle not knowing where I would get money to go to school and having to make it check by check or having to not enroll in as many classes as I would like,” Romero said. “That’s why I wanted to push for this, I’m looking at our community thinking, ‘If I had those hardships, others are probably having the same difficulty.’”

Romero didn’t have to search far for a blueprint: Truckee Meadows Community College in Reno already has a program aimed to help DACA recipients, which inspired CSN to follow suit. Truckee Meadows’ one-year grant awards 40 students $1,000 using a portion of student fees that was calculated based on the number of students at the school who are not U.S. citizens.

Colleges across Nevada are implementing similar initiatives, TMCC scholarship coordinator Jeannette Smith said.

“We always look for ways to support our students,” Smith said. “This was just one of those ways.”

The CSN Dream Scholarship, also funded through student fees collected by CSN’s student government, is much smaller; only two students will be awarded the one-time $1,500 grant this fall.

The program is aimed at helping undocumented immigrants, but will remain open to any student with a minimum 2.5 GPA taking at least six CSN credits in the fall semester is eligible. Applicants must submit letters of recommendation, academic information, descriptions of community service and a personal essay describing how undocumented students’ pursuit of higher education has inspired them. CSN is seeking private donations to make the scholarship permanent.

CSN’s announcement follows the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision that dealt a blow to President Barack Obama’s efforts to expand the DACA program and shield millions more under a new program. Amid a contentious presidential race, some are bracing for the possible demise of the DACA program, which Obama established through an executive order four years ago.

“It very well may be this scholarship does not have more than a year of life,” President Michael Richards said. “It very well may be that it gets caught up in some of this national noise. But this scholarship was developed and put in place … as a real tribute to students who want to help other students.”

UNLV law professor Michael Kagan, who is also a co-director at the school’s Immigration Clinic, said it’s unlikely that Nevada colleges would end efforts to help undocumented students.

“The state of Nevada and its colleges and universities serve the residents of Nevada,” Kagan said. “We have many residents in Nevada who aren’t citizens and who have needs. A lot of DACA recipients have deeper roots than many in state of Nevada, and this is probably as good of a state investment as it would be for any other student.”

Contact Ana Ley at aley@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5512. Find her on Twitter @la__ley.