Any day now, the U.S. Supreme Court could decide the fate of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program – also known as DACA.
President Barack Obama initiated DACA in 2012. It gave young, undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as minors protection from deportation.
In September 2017, the Trump administration terminated the policy.
Since then, more than 160 higher education institutions signed onto a lawsuit challenging that decision.
The Nevada System of Higher Education was one of them. Nevada has a large number of undocumented and DACA students on its campuses.
“The position of NSHE is that we provide opportunities and support for all of our students regardless of immigration status,” Thom Reilly, chancellor of the Nevada System of Higher Education, told KNPR's State of Nevada.
Reilly said it is a simple and clear position about educating students in Nevada.
“Our goal is to provide access and ensure that we have an educated workforce and that is everybody in Nevada,” he said.
He said they want to eliminate some of the myths about higher education that work as barriers for undocumented students. For example, colleges and universities don't check the immigration of their students.
While students are not eligible for federal financial aid, there are state programs such as the Silver State Opportunity Grant or the Nevada Promise Scholarship for which they can apply.
Amey Evaluna is with the division of college and community engagement at Nevada State College. She said besides state-funded scholarships there are also privately funded scholarships that people - of any legal status - can apply for.
She encouraged students and parents to go to NSHE's website for information on available scholarships and to connect with NSHE's campus resources.
In her position at NSC, Evaluna oversees 61 students who are in the DACA program. She said all of them have some level of concern about what is ahead.
“Underlying, yes, all of those students are worried. There is an ongoing worry for themselves and their families, for their futures, for their employment. However, at the same time between those 61 scholars, I feel like it is maybe split into thirds," she said.
Evaluna said one-third of students are turning that concern into advocacy for a real solution to the issue of immigration. The other two-thirds are watching to see what happens, but the worry really never leaves them.
Mariana Sarmiento knows that anxiety well. She is a resource coordinator at UNLV, working on her masters' degree in social work and she is covered under DACA.
“There’s anxiety definitely around issues of uncertainty of what our future looks like,” she said.
Sarmiento works specifically with students who are undocumented -- a new position created by the university.
“I think it really mirrors the way that other campuses across the country are creating Dream Centers to provide more holistic support for their students,” she said.
Although undocumented and DACA students may have similar backgrounds, they don't face the same challenges. However, Sarmiento said some of those difficulties revolve around myths about what they can and cannot do.
Sarmiento and Evaluna both work to guide undocumented workers on how they can work in the United States legally. For instance, even without U.S. citizenship, people can work as consultants or independent contractors. They can also start their own business.
There is no exact date for when the High Court will make a decision on DACA, but Sarmiento said many undocumented and DACA students are looking beyond that program.
“While there is uncertainty with the community that does have DACA, there is also an understanding that this issue is a lot bigger than DACA. This issue is about immigrants and the opportunities available to all immigrants,” she said.
Thom Reilly, chancellor, Nevada System of Higher Education; Amey Evaluna, division of college and community engagement, Nevada State College; Mariana Sarmiento, resource coordinator, University of Nevada Las Vegas