Undocumented Students Struggle Toward College

April 12, 2009— -- On a bright day on the campus of the University of California-Berkeley, 21-year-old Victor squints into the sun as another student comes up to him for a breezy chat.

In most ways Victor is like any other college student. He has a 3.4 GPA and he majors in ethnic studies. He wants to go to medical school. His dream is to be a pediatrician one day.

He has grand ambitions, but Victor may never actually reach his dream job, and it likely won't be grades holding him back.

An undocumented immigrant from Mexico, Victor is in some ways invisible. By law, he isn't allowed to be in the country. He doesn't have a Social Security number or a driver's license -- indeed, as far as the federal government is concerned, an identity.

As a small child, Victor was brought across the border after his father was murdered in Mexico. His family decided that it wasn't safe anymore for them, they left for the United States.

"I was five years old when we left Juahaca, Mexico. I remember the day," he says. "It was very early in the morning, I was a little bit scared but at the same time very excited because I was coming to this land of opportunity. I remember pretending to fall asleep as we crossed the border. The next thing I remember is waking up at McDonalds with a Happy Meal.

"I remember my first day here when I was in school. My mom took me and she said, son, here you go, it's a new beginning for us. I was scared, I started crying. I didn't know how to communicate with people in English, but little by little I started learning, watching cartoons, reading."

His teachers pushed him and with hard work Victor learned English, got good grades, learned the culture and grew up as any other American boy -- going to school, playing soccer, joining school clubs. Until one day, one club wouldn't let him in.

"It didn't really hit me until the eighth grade, when I went through a math program and they needed my Social Security number and I went home to my mom, I said, 'Mom can you find me this number, it's essential for me to apply for this program,' and she said, 'No you don't have one, because you don't have resident or citizen status here in the United States,'" says Victor.