I shouldn't have done that. Rodriguez has little chance of attending college because the legal protection for illegal immigrants in school does not extend beyond high school. A young Guatemalan man whom Rodriguez considers his surrogate brother graduated from George Rogers Clark last year and has not been able to advance his education. Rodriguez is a highly motivated, talented teenager who overcame poverty and a language barrier to achieve his education. But his story also shows how the federal government's tightening immigration policy is at odds with Central Kentucky's growing economic dependence on illegal immigrant workers.
Federal officials say they plan raids on other businesses that have hired illegal workers.
No public school in the country is allowed to question whether a child is residing in the United States legally, Macias said. As a result, state officials have no idea how many illegal immigrants will graduate from high school this spring, said Crichton Comer, a migrant program consultant with the Kentucky Department of Education. Felty tried to help Wallace and Lana Guerrant, the Winchester couple who took in both Rodriguez and Erick Garcia, 20. Garcia, an illegal Guatemalan immigrant, crossed the border alone when he was 12, after walking for days in the mountains and across the desert. We tried, and no one in Immigration and no one in the embassy could think of anything.