Kennesaw State student participates in immigration rallies

By Laura Diamond

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

An undocumented student at Kennesaw State University who has personified Georgia's debate over illegal immigration is participating in a series of rallies to allow students like her to become U.S. citizens.

Enlarge photo

Chris Dunn, cdunn@ajc.com Jessica Colotl (behind Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights president Teodoro Maus during a press conference in Atlanta on July 15) Colotl has become the poster child of illegal immigration conflict after her illegal alien status came to light in March.

More Atlanta area news »

• Whitney Houston's death | Fans react on Twitter
• Chief appraiser stepping down
• Weekend temps in low 20s
• Canton man killed in head-on

Jessica Colotl is among the hundreds of students who gathered in Washington D.C. this week to urge Congress to pass the DREAM Act. This bill, which is unlikely to pass this year, would grant a path to legal residence for students who were brought here illegally as minors.

Opponents say the bill would encourage more illegal immigration.

Colotl announced her travel plans during a news conference organized by the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights. Her immigration attorney confirmed her plans Tuesday.

Colotl was arrested on campus in late March for traffic violations. The 21-year-old is a native of Mexico, who was brought to this country illegally by her parents when she was a child. While deportation proceedings began this spring, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials granted Colotl a one-year reprieve so she can finish her degree.

After her arrest, it was disclosed that KSU officials erroneously charged her in-state tuition, a benefit reserved for legal Georgia residents.

State rules allow illegal immigrants to attend Georgia's public colleges, but they must be charged the more expensive out-of-state tuition rates. University officials said she will be charged the correct tuition rate when she returns to campus in August.