Jessica Colotl, the Kennesaw State University graduate who reignited a statewide debate over whether illegal immigrants should attend public colleges, received permission to remain in the country another year, her attorney said Monday.
Federal officials first granted Colotl a one-year deferment from deportation in 2010 so she could finish her degree in political science. She received a second deferment last May and it was just renewed again.
She will apply for another reprieve next year, said Charles Kuck, her immigration attorney.
Colotl graduated last May and is currently working as a paralegal assistant for Kuck. She has a standing deportation order and cannot apply for legal permanent residency under current federal immigration law, Kuck has said. Her options include re-applying for the deferment or returning to Mexico for 10 years and then applying for a visa, he said.
Colotl's parents brought her from Mexico to the U.S. when she was a child. A KSU police officer pulled her over for a traffic violation in March 2010 and she was arrested when she failed to produce a valid driver's license.
The publicity surrounding her arrest renewed heated arguments over whether illegal immigrants take seats in college away from those lawfully in the country.
In response, the State Board of Regents barred illegal immigrants from any University System of Georgia college that has so many applicants they must turn away academically qualified U.S. citizens. The ban applies to: University of Georgia, Georgia State University, Georgia Tech, Georgia Health Sciences University and Georgia College & State University. Illegal immigrants may attend other colleges, including KSU, provided they pay out-of-state tuition.
Lawmakers have filed bills to bar illegal immigrants from all of Georgia's public colleges but none have received enough support to become law.
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