College for Illegal Teens

Re “Illegal Immigrants Enter Twilight Zone as Teenagers,” May 19: In The Times’ typical fashion, your front-page story on teenage illegal immigrants possibly losing their status as they reach adulthood is supposed to make us feel sorry for these young people. My question is, if they are so intelligent as to be receiving scholarships to Ivy League schools, why are they not smart enough to understand the laws of this country?

LAURIE TRAINOR

Los Angeles

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Your article did an excellent job of highlighting an issue about which many of us educators are well aware: the inability of U.S.-educated, talented, high-achieving high school graduates to pursue a university education because of their immigration status.

Every year, I get dozens of calls from high school counselors and teachers asking me if I know of a university that has educational opportunities for graduating students who have been educated in American schools, have high grade point averages, above-average SAT scores, are outstanding members of our society, but do not have permanent residency in the U.S. The unfortunate answer is that only a handful of private universities around the country have programs in place that allow students in this situation to pursue a university education.

Denying these young people opportunities to pursue higher education is a terrible waste of talent for our country and a serious injustice to these students.

As your article states, many students from Central America would be able to permanently legalize their immigration status if HR 2722 and S 1592 become law. This legislation is a major step toward resolving the status of many students from Central America and Haiti who are caught in this situation but would not solve the problem for the majority of such students. The 106th Congress should pass HR 2722 and S 1592, and the 107th Congress should pass legislation that would allow talented, high-achieving, U.S.-educated high school students an opportunity to apply for permanent residency. Such legislation would be good for America and just for these young people.

HERBERT A. MEDINA

Associate Prof. of Mathematics

Loyola Marymount University

Los Angeles