Asking DREAMERS for their status when they enroll in college

It has been reported that one local community college admissions officer told a DREAMER he/she could not enroll in college - justifying this with the following: “I’ll be breaking the law if I let you into this college.” DREAMERS are allowed to enroll in college and are not supposed to be questioned on their immigration status.


Attorney Josh Bernstein, who is the Director of Federal Policy at the National Immigration Law Center in Washington distributed a commentary today regarding the legality of undocumented students attending public colleges. Bernstein stated:

"DHS has now clarified in unambiguous terms that colleges and universities are not required to ask about the immigration status of their students, and they also are not required to report undocumented students to the government."

The official letter from the Department of Homeland Security can be accessed if you click here



The North Carolina Attorney General responded to the release of the DHS letter in an AP article published today:

"Although federal immigration officials last week released a statement saying there is no law prohibiting the state from educating illegal immigrants at public colleges and universities, Cooper's office said that statement is not the same as a legal opinion from the Department of Homeland Security."