This semester, Morgan State University welcomed 10 new undocumented students to its campus. Many of these students have faced trials involving their ability to pay their tuition and fees in order to attend classes.
As undocumented students don’t have U.S Social Security Numbers, their enrollment process is inherently different from that of other people. Because of the challenges undocumented face, Morgan has begun providing resources that cater to their unique experiences. One of these resources is a scholarship created specifically for undocumented students.
Josue Ruiz Cruz, a freshman mechatronics engineering major, is one of the university’s new undocumented students. According to him, there aren’t many scholarships available for undocumented students as many require a Social Security Number.
“We’re expected to pursue higher education and it wasn’t a problem before, but now that Morgan has us here, they don’t know how to deal with it,” Cruz said.“There is a lack of jobs, internships, and it makes it more difficult because I can’t work legally.”
Morgan is the only historically Black university in Maryland to partner with TheDream.US, a scholarship program for undocumented students eligible for in-state tuition at TheDream.US Partner Colleges. Through its partnerships, TheDream.US, awarded an $8,000 scholarship to 10 undocumented students for the 2023-2024 academic year.
The scholarship covers tuition and fees up to $33,000 toward a bachelor’s degree – but undocumented students still need to pay for books and housing on their own.
Many students that receive the scholarship are expected to commute as it only covers tuition—but many don’t have the ability or resources to do so. Undocumented students cannot work in the U.S. without a legally documented status and the process for obtaining one is lengthy.
Morelys Urbano, a junior multimedia journalism major and founder of the student organization UndocuBear, said she advised Morgan President David Wilson to create a Morgan State financial aid fund for undocumented students.
TheDream.US did provide these students with internships, which they receive stipends for, but they are very limited.
“Since students are not legally allowed to work on campus or in the U.S., they look for unpaid internships and TheDream.US gives them a stipend to pay them for the internship that is unpaid,” Urbano said. “Immigration is bigger than any political stance the university could gain.”
Urbano also said the university needs to do more as immigration is a human right.
“We have the right to be here, therefore the university needs to accommodate our needs,” she said.
Mariam Hashiru, freshman chemistry major and one of Morgan’s undocumented students, said she found out about Morgan through a friend.
“My experience here at Morgan is bittersweet. My professors are amazing but working with financial aid and the Office of the Registrar is hard,” said Hashiru.
Even though Hashiru has received the Dream.US scholarship, she was initially considered an out-of-state student. Hashiru does, in fact, live in Maryland, and she has lived here since she was 13 years old.
It took more than two months to fix the issue. Hashiru said she had to “go back and forth to Morgan” to find a solution for her residency issues over the summer.
She worked with Bear Essentials, Morgan’s student services department, to resolve the issue, but its representatives have demonstrated limited knowledge of how to distribute undocumented students’ scholarships appropriately.
Many undocumented students eventually decide to unenroll due to difficulties paying for tuition, lack of resources, fees, and other costs of attending a college or university. At Morgan, several undocumented students feel that they don’t have enough resources to enable them to complete their journey through higher education.
Hashiru hopes Morgan will provide more resources for undocumented students to continue their education in the future.
According to a university spokesperson, Morgan is in the process of creating more accessible financial outlets for undocumented students.
“We are making additional efforts to support undocumented students. They are eligible for most Morgan merit and need-based scholarships. There may be a few funded by external donors for which they are not eligible, but they are eligible for most.” Cheryl Stewart, public relations manager of Morgan’s Office of Public Relations said.
“We have a section on our Center for Career Development page for Undocumented and DACA students.”
