Asylum seekers pay more tuition for higher education: ‘It doesn’t make sense’
HANAHAN, S.C. (WCSC) – What does it mean to be a “state resident” when it comes to what you pay in tuition while advancing your education? A lot.
As simple as it may sound, proving your residency isn’t often as easy as you might think. Schools can request your high school transcripts, driver’s license, vehicle registration, tax returns, evidence of employment, leases, bills and potentially even more than that.
For two legal asylum seekers, Edsel Chacon and his classmate-turned-friend Mario Rodriguez, providing all the above, still wasn’t enough.
“This country made me, like, a better person like I had more goals, and I learned a second language and it also made me, like, to work more and to be more productive,” Chacon, who is studying digital media at Trident Tech, said. “I would want to, like, have a museum someday to show all my art and my work. And I’m studying.”
He and Rodriguez are both from Venezuela, but under different circumstances.
“I’m from Caracas and he’s from San Cristobal. There are two different states and I wanted to come here since I’m like nine years old,” Rodriguez said. “Well, you know the situation in Venezuela is so hard, so we had to come here. At first, and it was a challenge for me.”
Traveling nearly 2,000 miles in search of opportunity, safety and a better life, these young men and their families have called the Lowcountry home for the last three years.
During that time, they have attended Hanahan High School, graduated last year near the top of their class, worked and paid taxes while advancing their educations at Trident Technical University this fall where they will pay as out-of-state residents.
“It doesn’t make sense to me because I pay taxes here, I live here, so why?” Rodriguez said. “You pay your taxes, graduate from high school and they are telling you that they need more because they need proof that you live here. I think the yearbook pictures, high school transcripts are already proof that I do live here. They say that it’s a school policy and I don’t know. It doesn’t make sense to me. I’m from here now. I pay taxes and I just need a green card to get the FAFSA?”
Instead, these young men will pay 142.2% more than their in-state peers. Trident Tech’s website states out-of-state students enrolled in an 18-credit hour semester pay $6,445.82 after registration fees and any lottery assistance compared to $2,660.42 under the same circumstances and fees for students able to prove their South Carolina residency.
That percentage would be even higher when comparing it to Trident Tech students coming from Charleston, Berkeley or Dorchester counties who pay $2,228.72: That’s a 189.1% difference.
While they have done much to check off the list of residency requirements by having temporary protected statuses, drivers’ licenses, tax documents, proof of employment and even recommendations from a teacher.
What they don’t have is full American citizenship.
“They don’t give up,” Hanahan High School Multilingual Teacher Dr. Dorothy Wooden said. “I’ve never seen kids who want an education and to get ahead as much as the students that I teach.”
Wooden has known Chacon and Rodriguez for three years and even helped teach them English.
“The people that I’ve met since having this job, they just want a better life, and I think that’s what the United States was founded on, you know, our Melting Pot. And now we are starting this other Melting Pot again,” Wooden said. “Chacon and Rodriguez have fulfilled my life. If it hadn’t been for them and other students as well, I think I would be different… because now I can kind of put myself in their place. And you become more empathetic that way.”
She’s working to help these young men and other students like them achieve more through higher education and ultimately U.S. citizenship.
“Sometimes I think we don’t realize the life we have here as Americans and when I meet someone like Mario and Edsel, they’ve seen other cultures, they’ve seen other places that it’s not like here,” Wooden said. “So, when you finally are allowed to be in this country, you want to take advantage of everything, and you don’t take it for granted and I don’t think they do. They love wanting to be a part of this country and they want to do whatever it takes. So, a lot of times, it has to do with where they came from. That builds upon that resolve.”
The associate director for the Student Affairs South Carolina Commission on Higher Education, Gerrick Hampton, says the country of their birth, where they’re currently seeking asylum from and their status with it, is limiting exactly where they’ll go and how much it’ll cost to get there.
“The regulations were created to be sure that South Carolina residents received the benefits that South Carolina residents are entitled to and so sometimes that triggers in-state tuition. Sometimes it’s state scholarships, but I think the goal overall is to be sure that whoever is receiving that benefit is a South Carolina resident,” Hampton said. “I just think the school in their case, when they’re making their decisions, are really looking for the major pieces that say, yes, I’m a South Carolina resident or yes, my intent and that’s a big word in the regulation is intent to be a South Carolina resident.”
In a statement, Trident Tech defended its decision to reject in-state tuition:
At Trident Technical College, we adhere to the regulations set forth by the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education regarding the classification of tuition and fees for all residents including non-resident aliens, non-citizens, and non-permanent residents. Policy 62-604 outlines the procedures for assessing tuition rates for these students based on their residency status.
As per the policy:
- Independent non-citizens and non-permanent residents will generally be assessed tuition at the out-of-state, non-resident rate unless exceptions apply.
- Certain non-resident aliens, including refugees, asylees, and parolees, may qualify for in-state tuition once they have been granted permanent resident status by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services and meet the state’s statutory residency and domiciliary requirements.
- Please note that any time spent living in South Carolina before receiving permanent residency does not count toward the 12-month residency requirement necessary for in-state classification.
- Non-resident aliens present under specific visa classifications may be eligible for in-state tuition based on guidelines set by the Commission on Higher Education, though they are not eligible for state-sponsored tuition assistance or scholarships.
Trident Technical College is committed to supporting all students in their educational journey and remains focused on ensuring compliance with state and federal regulations. We encourage students with questions about their residency status or tuition classification to contact the Office of Admissions for guidance and support.
In the case of Chacon and Rodriguez, their protected statuses and the circumstances of their current situation in the U.S. the time they’ve spent here, and documentation they can provide is not enough.
“We don’t want to do one-offs so we don’t want to do you know one change for one student in one part of the state because every case could be different it could create precedent,” Hampton said. “The rules are in place to be sure that that South Carolina residents are receiving those benefits.”
Wooden believes it’s time for these rules to change.
“You know. I always want to believe that whoever… came up with the guidelines, these rules, that they had good intentions. But times change, and situations change, and my hope is that some of these guidelines are revisited because of where we are right now,” Wooden said. “We try not to discourage the kids. It’s not that easy and I think a lot of the students you know once they’re about to graduate like their last semester it it almost is as if a light bulb is going off. They realize how much effort and work they have to put in in order to apply for college, to fill out all of these different forms and as their teacher, as they’re multilingual teacher, I try to help them in that respect as well. We also have career specialists that work with them, and we let them know you know, this is the situation, and this is what you’re going to have to do in order to get ahead. It comes as a shock at first, but they learn to rise above it.
Chacon and Rodriguez plan on doing exactly that: rising above their current situation, paying more than they think they should while advancing their American adventure of art.
“And for me, it’s okay,” Rodriguez said. “If they don’t know the whole story from Venezuela or other countries but I hope they feel more, like, thankful. I’m thinking about that and think about the opportunities that they have because it’s, yeah, it’s really great to expect that you can study, that you can get financial aid and you have to maybe not worry a lot about your future because you can choose.”
For its part, Hanahan High School is set to open a new international center for students and their families around the first of the year to help teach them what offers and opportunities are out there, like teaching adults computer skills, helping with job applications and enrolling in higher education.
“I’m gonna keep following, studying and making drawings,” Chacon said. “I’m also making a cartoon about my life, about my trip to here because it is so interesting, and I think that people may like it and may feel like they connect to my story.”
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