Even as an outspoken college student, he prefers to be called by an alias, “José.”

He does not wish to be identified by his real name because he is an undocumented student at UCLA, where enrollment is keenly competitive, but it’s an achievement that is especially remarkable for the 19-year-old. As the son of undocumented Guatemalan parents, he’s been aided in his quest for higher education by a nearly decade-old California law – among the first in the nation — allowing academically qualified undocumented high school students to attend any public college or university in the state on in-state tuition rates.

“This is best I can do,” he said with understatement.

The law that makes his enrollment possible: California’s Assembly Bill 540, which stands in stark contrast to other states that have passed laws banning enrollment of undocumented students. AB540, controversial when it was passed eight years ago, serves as an important benchmark in the continuing debate over the failed “Dream Act,” federal legislation that would have cleared the road for undocumented students to become U.S. citizens.

Getting into UCLA was one thing, paying for his classes was another. The Salvadoran American Leadership and Education Foundation, a Los Angeles-based foundation, has a broad mandate, including the scholarships it awards to entering college students. SALEF has long played an advocacy role in improving the opportunities for Latino students. Getting all Latino students into college, whether native born or undocumented, begins with reducing the dropout rate, among SALEF’s chief goals.

Reforming schools, extending hope

The most recent dropout statistics showed Latino high school students dropped out at a rate of 34.9 percent.

“How is it possible that one-third of our kids are falling through the cracks?” asked Carlos Vaquerano, SALEF’s executive director. “There is something very wrong here.”

The dropout rate reported by the California Department of Education did not shock him. With all the problems that urban students of colors face, Vaquerano knows that there is not much he can do to change the system. Nonetheless, his organization gets involved through school reform advocacy, hoping to make improvements little by little.

“SALEF’s advocacy efforts include school reform issues such as eliminating overcrowded conditions in schools,” he said, reading from the organization’s web site, SALEF.org. “Quality education to successfully prepare all students for college and the 21st century workforce.”

To that end, SALEF created a scholarship called “Fulfilling Our Dreams” in 1998 when it was first created as a non-profit. SALEF’s original target was to offer financial assistance to Central American immigrant students. However, as the organization expanded, so did its corporate sponsors, and Vaquerano decided to include all Latino students of any background, regardless of immigration status, to be able to apply for the scholarships.

That is how Karina Barragan first heard of the opportunity to earn some much-needed money to finance her college education. The Costa Rica native had dreams of becoming a child psychologist. At Belmont High School, information was hard to come by, according to the student. “I speak English, but I did not know where to go in the beginning,” she said. “My parents work all the time, so they told me to talk to my teachers. But they are too busy, the academic advisor, too. I was shy, too. But one day I saw it on television in the Spanish news when I was in the 11th grade. That’s when I decided to find out more, so I called.”

Coming from a low-income family made it easier for Barragan to eventually become a recipient of the scholarship. She will be graduate in the summer 2010, with her much desired degree from California State University at Northridge. Barragan is among 400 scholarship recipients who have received awards of between $500 to $2,500 each.

California’s pro-immigrant law

As controversial as it may be in today’s immigration reform debate, on October 12, 2001, former California Gov. Gray Davis signed Assembly Bill 540 into law. The legislation allows undocumented students who meet specified criteria to pay in-state tuition at California public colleges and universities. It is estimated that 60,000 undocumented students graduate from U.S. high schools each year; however, the number of California students that actually use the bill is unknown.

White House officials have said the administration plans to reintroduce the Dream Act, but conversations continue in Washington over whether to include the legislation as part of immigration or education reform.

Qualifying for the exemption is relatively simple. Students are eligible if they attend a California high school for three or more years and earn a California high school diploma, or its equivalent, such as a GED. Students applying for the in-state tuition also must submit an affidavit to the California public college or university where they are attending or plan to attend. In this statement students declare that they meet all AB 540 requirements and if they are undocumented, that they have filed an application to adjust their immigration status, or will do so as soon as they are eligible to do so.

Many of these “special” students are from Mexico, Central and South America and live in the poor neighborhoods of Los Angeles. Given the current anti-immigrant climate, SALEF believes many young people prefer to remain in the shadows, unwilling to take advantage of AB540. But the organization still encourages students to apply for college and SALEF’s scholarship as well.

“Jose,” a Guatemalan native and a graduate of Dorsey High School, agreed that the SALEF scholarship he earned last year has made all the difference in the world. “I am so thankful that there are organizations that see people like me. Yes, I am undocumented, but my parents brought me here when I was a two-year-old toddler. So to me this is home, and having this opportunity to study here in this college is a dream come true for me and my family.”

Hundreds of scholarship applications

Vaquerano knows the difficulties that the poor communities continue to face as budget cuts continue to make college enrollment tougher for all students, like 17-year-old Yamilete Lopez, of Los Angeles, a senior at Belmont High School.

“My family can’t afford school for me, so it will be up to me” said Lopez, a big smile on her face. I found out about SALEF in school. My parents are Central American, I was born here, and I have really good grades (3.8 grade point average) So I think I meet all the requirements.” She wants to be a doctor.

“We will be expecting her application, and it will be considered for next year along the other 500 applications we should receive for 2010,” said Vaquerano, as he held the folders for the recipients of this year’s scholarship applications from across the state, most of them from South Los Angeles. “It is for students like her that I want to make a difference, so let her enter the competition.”

This year’s round of scholarships will be awarded during SALEF’s 12th annual scholarship banquet on Oct. 23rd at the Marriott Hotel, in downtown Los Angeles. “I’m looking forward to it,” said Vaquerano.

“Every year, I’m nearly as excited as they are when they get the award, because they see that it is real.”

Furthermore: California is one of 10 states allowing undocumented students to enroll in public colleges and universities. Illinois, New Mexico, New York and Texas also charge undocumented students in-state tuition rates, while Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia and Virginia charge undocumented immigrants out-of-state tuition, according to American Renaissance magazine, a Virginia-based monthly that writes about race, immigration and civility. http://www.amren.com/index.html