Undocumented Kennesaw State student subject of scrutiny

Chancellor Erroll Davis said the University System of Georgia follows the law as it pertains to undocumented students: Students are required to indicate on admissions applications whether or not they are citizens. Undocumented students may still enroll but must pay out-of-state tuition, which can be three times as much as in-state. Colotl was admitted before this law was in place, Davis said.

According to friends, Colotl was 10 when her parents came to the United States from Mexico. As a Georgia high school graduate, she won admission in fall 2006 to Kennesaw State and paid in-state tuition. She worked nights to pay for school with hopes of becoming a lawyer. Now 21 and a senior, Colotl was on track to graduate this fall, majoring in political science with a French minor.

On March 29, a campus police officer pulled her over in a university parking lot for “impeding the flow of traffic." According to university officials, Colotl told the officer she had a Mexican driver’s license but could not find it. She presented her Mexican passport, but it had expired in August 2007. The officer arrested her the next day and turned her over to Cobb County authorities.

Cobb authorities, under an agreement with federal authorities, grant some officers with certain immigration enforcement powers. Deportation proceedings against Colotl began. She was transferred to a the Etowah Detention Center in Alabama, awaiting deportation to Mexico.

Friends and members of her sorority, Lambda Theta Alpha, rallied. According to the university, officials there learned Colotl’s situation on April 26. They reached out to Colotl's lawyer, her sorority and others to offer help. University President Daniel Papp provided a statement that said Colotl was a student in good standing and a leader of several campus groups. He asked that, within the letter of the law, she be allowed to return to Kennesaw State to complete her studies. The ACLU also contacted the Department of Homeland Security on Colotl's behalf.

In the meantime, the story has gained momentum. A local paper, The Marietta Daily Journal, highlighted the issue with repeated stories and on Tuesday suggested the university system's governing Board of Regents would take up the issue as it related to undocumented students. A blog post by the ACLU highlighting Colotl's case was picked up Friday by The Huffington Post, a national online publication. In Georgia, Republican candidate for governor Eric Johnson issued a statement Tuesday calling for stricter rules for undocumented students.

Azadeh Shahshahani, director of the ACLU of Georgia's National Security/Immigrants' Rights Project, wrote the blog post. On Tuesday, she said her group is troubled by how local authorities, including those in Cobb, have used powers issued under the federal program that Colotl was caught up in. The federal program, known as 287(g), allows officers to screen inmates to determine if they are in the country illegally and to hand over those suspected of being illegal immigrants to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for potential deportation.

Shahshahani said the program is meant to target dangerous criminals, not a promising college student pulled over for a minor traffic violation.

Last week, authorities released Colotl and deferred action on her status for one year. The decision is essentially a temporary reprieve, giving Colotl time to finish her studies before her case is reviewed.

Lila Parra, a sorority sister who campaigned for Colotl's release, said Colotl has already signed up for classes starting in the summer. Parra also said friends do not plan to let the issue go.

"There are a lot of students like Jessica who have great minds and great potential. You never know if one of those minds has a cure for cancer," Parra said. "It should not go to waste just because of a paper."

Staff writer Laura Diamond contributed to this report.