Model non-citizen: Even best have little chance

Maite Carranza could be described as a model student or a role model. But not a model citizen.

The 17-year-old graduated 11th in her class at Granite High School with a 3.8 GPA and a 31 ACT score. She earned a full-ride scholarship to the University of Utah where she majors in political science. She is articulate in English and Spanish. She received an academic award from the governor's office. She volunteered with Big Brothers Big Sisters.

She has a solid foundation for realizing her goal of running for elected office some day. Except she isn't a citizen of the United States. And may never be.

"It's a very nice place to live because there are lots of opportunities for you," she said, before adding "most of them I haven't been able to enjoy because I'm undocumented."

Carranza is a young woman whose bright future is clouded by immigration's uncertainty through no fault of her own. She came to the United States from Acapulco, Mexico, with her parents at age 7 on a vacation that turned into a lifetime. She can't go back, and she can't go forward. At least not as an American.

The government has no policy regarding young children who come to the United States with parents who venture across the border and do not return home after their visas expire. They are considered illegal immigrants at age 18. The INS doesn't routinely round children up for deportation, but even the best and brightest have little upward mobility.

Gov. Jon M. Huntsman Jr. is sympathetic to the plight of young people like Carranza. He says he doesn't see any reason to penalize them because they were part of a family searching for a better opportunity.

"A lot of these kids were either born here or certainly were not in a position in their earlier lives to have any influence over the outcome of their journey. They were brought here. Does that mean we disregard them and we kind of cancel them out from achieving the American dream?"

Carranza shatters the stereotype of what people perceive as an "illegal alien" — an uneducated single male who works in an orchard or at a construction site. Though illegal immigrants overall are less educated — 49 percent have not completed high school, according to the Pew Hispanic Center — she is among those who have a high school diploma.

But her aspirations are much loftier. She wants a college degree and envisions a career in public service, maybe starting in the state Hispanic affairs office, she says.