Admitting 'illegals'

Given the recent debates over the status of illegal immigrants in the Unites States, it only seems appropriate to examine the University's admission policy on illegal immigrants. Princeton is currently willing to admit students who are illegal immigrants. We feel there is no reason it should not continue to do so.

The University is under no legal obligation to report any applicants or students who are in the country illegally. Many other schools across the country, including a number of public schools that rely on taxpayer money, also knowingly include illegal immigrants in their student bodies. The fact that Princeton is a private institution and uses private funds to give aid makes the issue even less controversial. While many may not consider immigrants to be "Americans" — regardless of how long they have lived in the country — there is no real difference between giving financial aid to immigrants and giving financial aid to international students.

Of course, many would point out that at the end of the day, the University still has an obligation to report rather than reward students who break the law. After all, there are thousands of qualified, law-abiding students who the University rejects each year, and we would like to think that, for certain crimes, the University would report a student to the proper authorities. But this isn't about an illegal immigrant taking the spot of a hardworking, law-abiding student. Illegal immigrants most likely have to work a lot harder to have the kind of academic record that warrants a Princeton acceptance letter given the number of legal and socioeconomic barriers many of them face.

Ultimately, the decision about whether to admit illegal immigrants comes down to the University's mission as an academic institution. It is in the best interest of Princeton administrators, faculty and students to have the strongest, most capable, diverse and engaged student body it can. As Class of 2006 Salutatorian Dan-el Padilla Peralta demonstrates, having a diverse student body that includes illegal immigrants only contributes to Princeton's tradition of excellence. It is our intellectually rich and open environment that makes Princeton so remarkable and to deny that experience to illegal immigrants would prevent the rest of us from enjoying it to its fullest extent.