"His father got a job in construction, his mother cleaning houses. He learned English better than Spanish: I feel like I'm from here, but without papers I don't have the same opportunities. That fact has forced him to work twice as hard. He wanted to earn a degree in computer science to merge, he says, technology, politics, and law. He did well for four semesters."
"His limbo began last June, when a court ruling struck down the law passed in 2001 by then-Republican Governor Rick Perry. Thanks to it, thousands of undocumented young people were able to access in-state tuition if they had studied at least three years in Texas high schools and signed an affidavit stating they would seek permanent residency as soon as legally possible. In Jose Luis's case, his university cost around $10,000 (about 8,500) per semester."
Jose Luis grew up in Texas after arriving from Mexico at age four and lacks legal status. His father worked in construction and his mother cleaned houses. He learned English better than Spanish and feels like he is from Texas but faces limited opportunities without legal papers. He pursued a computer science degree to combine technology, politics, and law and completed four semesters while working as a community manager and filing taxes with an ITIN. A court ruling struck down the 2001 Texas law that allowed undocumented students to pay in-state tuition and access financial aid, leaving his education on hold.
Read at english.elpais.com
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