Sitting on the steps in front of his apartment, 14-year-old Trevor Watson — the same kid from the after-school group at Castlemont — says the popping sounds of gunfire sometimes keep him up at night.
To deal with it, he tries to ignore it.
D was applying to get his juvenile record sealed. And depending on what happened at his hearing that afternoon, he had the chance to walk away from court without having to explain his past to future employers, schools, or landlords.
Tucked away in the student center at University of California Berkeley, the Undocumented Student Programis designed to be a national model. It makes college possible for students without legal status. Meng So runs the program. He’s totally passionate about the work, and insists students here couldn’t wait for national immigration reform. “So we said, as the number one public institution in America, we’re gonna take a lead, and we’re gonna act when others won’t,” said So.
That means: low cost housing, financial aid, and free legal services, on top of the in-state tuition and grants that California offers many undocumented students, who attended three years of high school.
All to support students like sophomore Carlos Hernandez Martinez.
