CounterPunch | Why do we live in a society that thinks that it’s reasonable to ask
someone to shoulder an adult’s responsibility at home, support
themselves and perhaps other family members too, and go to school on top
of that? And then why do we call them failures when that doesn’t work?
Some students receive financial aid to cover their tuition, but that
doesn’t cover their other needs. It doesn’t keep them from working long
hours, sometimes on the night shift, in order to make ends meet at home.
This year, some students have an added challenge.
Some are undocumented immigrants, brought here as children through no
fault of their own. Obama allowed them to pay a fee in order to avoid
deportation and legally work in the U.S. temporarily. Trump ended that
program.
When students’ two year work permits run out, what will happen to
them? Some students have had relatives, parents even, get deported.
Students who try to educate themselves in these conditions are
heroes. We should make it easier, not harder, for them to devote
themselves full time to study.
And we certainly shouldn’t discuss them as if they are human garbage who should be deported.
