University offers special paid internships, tuition assistance for illegal immigrants

Fordham University’s Center for Community Engaged Learning (CCEL) will soon “reprise and expand” a program that grants paid internship opportunities to “undocumented” high school students.

According to the Mar. 8 announcement made by Fordham News, the program, called “Beyond Rising,” is “designed to fill a gap left by New York City’s Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP), which provides paid work experience to New Yorkers aged 14 to 24.”

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Julie Gafney, CCEL Executive Director, stated that “Beyond Rising focuses on youth who may not feel comfortable filling out SYEP’s rigorous paperwork.”

Beyond Rising will be offering 30 paid internships this summer to high school students aged 16 to 18 who will be mentored by bilingual Fordham University students. High school students that intern with Beyond Rising will also be eligible for free university application and tuition assistance. 

The move comes as part of a larger trend covered by Campus Reform in which some universities and state governments are helping to fund college education for illegal immigrant students. 

Campus Reform reported in June of 2021, for example, that former Virginia Governor Ralph Northam made in-state tuition rates available to 12,000 illegal immigrant students. 

Northam signed both SB1387 and HB2123 into law on June 1 of that year, making illegal immigrant students eligible for in-state tuition assistance programs. The legislation went into effect in August of 2022. 

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Referencing a 2013 survey of Hispanics in America that found 35 percent of illegal immigrants identify with the Democratic Party and only 4 percent with the GOP, former Campus Reform Spokesperson and Higher Education Fellow Angela Morabito wrote for Campus Reform in 2021 that “[t]his misguided policy is a reflection of Democrats’ priorities: Sacrifice American workers, bring more people here illegally, eventually convert them into voters, and do so all under the guise of generosity.” 

Campus Reform contacted every university, organization, and individual mentioned. This article will be updated accordingly. 

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