University of Michigan DACA student turns to GoFundMe to pay out-of-state tuition

Juan Munoz

Juan Muñoz, a former University of Michigan student, has started a GoFundMe to help pay for his outstanding and remaining tuition at UM, which is owed at an out-of-state rate. Munoz has lived in Michigan since the age of 4.Photo provided | Juan Muñoz

ANN ARBOR, MI – For Juan Muñoz, a GoFundMe campaign was a last resort.

It was no small task to save up enough money to pay out of pocket to attend Henry Ford College, while also working full time. As an undocumented student, he had no access to federal financial aid or scholarship eligibility.

As a result, it took Muñoz 60 months after high school to complete his associate’s degree in architecture construction technology and industrial design technology before being accepted at the University of Michigan to pursue a bachelor’s degree in architecture.

The length of time it took him to arrive at UM, however, has left Muñoz in a financial quandary with his degree hanging in the balance.

Federal and university policy forced him to pay out-of-state tuition for the fall 2018 semester, leaving him with an outstanding balance of more than $26,000, even though Michigan is the only state he has lived in since arriving in Detroit at age 4 from Mexico City.

Muñoz is in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which protects undocumented child immigrants from deportation if they meet certain requirements.

With his transcripts on hold until he can pay off the balance of his tuition, Muñoz sought policy change through the university’s Board of Regents before going public with a plea to help him pay his outstanding balance, in addition to the remaining estimated $106,000 out-of-state tuition to complete his UM degree.

“I really tried scholarships, but it was very difficult because I wasn’t enrolled or a citizen,” Muñoz said of starting the GoFundMe on Nov. 27.

“Loans are not a thing for us, because you need a co-signer that’s a citizen. At that point, I exposed my status. That was very scary for me, because more than anything, exposing my status exposed my family, who is undocumented.”

At the time Muñoz enrolled at the university in the summer of 2018, UM’s residency policy required that students attended an accredited Michigan high school for at least three years, attended a Michigan middle school for two years and had enrolled at the university within 28 months of graduating high school.

Because it took him 60 months after graduating high school to enroll at UM, however, Muñoz owed the university tuition at the out-of-state rate as he worked through the fall semester.

After applying for and being denied in-state residency, he was told to appeal and the university would look into his story and why it took so long for him to enroll at the university after high school – a process that typically takes longer for undocumented students because of the complications of paying for school, Muñoz said.

“From there, everything started spiraling out of control, because I was already in the program and owed the money,” he said. “Because I didn’t have any financial support, I was working full time and was going to school full time and I was battling this residency situation by going to meetings with administrators to try to see what I could do. That fall semester was super intense.”

After Muñoz’s appeal was denied, he and other undocumented students began pressing UM administrators and its Board of Regents to change its policy. The students were eventually informed through a professor the university did change its policy from requiring enrollment within 28 months of graduating high school to 40 months.

In an article for the University Record, UM Vice Provost for Enrollment Management Kedra Ishop said for community college attendees, underrepresented minorities, first-generation students and low-income students, the median time from high school graduation to university enrollment ranges from 28 to 44 months.

“It’s not surprising that these students often need to take longer to finance and achieve their eventual successful application and enrollment,” Ishop said in The Record. “We need to make sure that we maintain reasonable access for those who need to stop along the way, for instance to work, but who continue to achieve and are great candidates for UM.”

While it was a win of sorts philosophically, the change in policy didn’t have an impact on Muñoz.

“It was just upsetting, because we fought for this for a year and then they changed the policy, but they changed in a way that wasn’t going to affect the person fighting for it,” he said.

Muñoz is asking for $60,000 through the GoFundMe. That would cover a good portion of the remaining money he anticipates needing to complete his degree -- the outstanding $26,700 for the fall 2018 semester and around $80,000 for his three remaining semesters.

He understands the obstacles created by paying approximately $51,000 per year in out-of-state tuition, as opposed to more than $15,000 per year for in-state residents. That’s why he’s trying to at least get his outstanding debt paid off so he can receive his transcripts and transfer to another institution to complete his degree.

Faculty in the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning have been very accommodating, Muñoz said, allowing him to continue to attend classes and complete coursework during the previous winter semester with the possibility of earning those credits if he is able to re-enroll and pay tuition. That would leave him with about 30 credits remaining to graduate.

He also credits the support he’s received from the Student Community of Progressive Empowerment group at UM, which provides outreach to undocumented and DACAmented students. At the same time, making his story public has exposed Muñoz to people who view him in a negative light as an undocumented student.

"I did receive a lot of messages that were negative and hateful … pretty racist to be honest,” he said. “You get a lot of support, but you also have people who are calling you names, saying ‘Call it what it is, you’re not undocumented, you’re illegal.’”

The entire experience has left Muñoz gratified that there are others willing to support him, but also hopeful that his story will bring to light policies that make it difficult for undocumented students to get ahead.

In the meantime, external factors continue to mount for Muñoz. The Supreme Court heard arguments last month to determine whether the administration of President Donald Trump acted lawfully in 2017 when it ended DACA.

Since then, no new applications to the program have been accepted, but immigrant advocates have managed to keep DACA partially alive through legal challenges in which lower courts have decided that people who already have the status should be able to renew it until the Supreme Court issues a final ruling, according to the New York Times.

Muñoz continues to work at UM as a research assistant for a professor in urban planning while also holding an office job at an automotive recycling plant. His ultimate hope is that he can eventually earn a degree from UM while also raising awareness about the obstacles undocumented students face in the United States.

"I think a lot of people think we are here being criminals or not being productive,” he said. “In reality, we are paying taxes, we’re trying to go to school to get a better job so we can contribute to society. We’re not criminals, because the moment we do something (illegal) we get deported.

“I know this GoFundMe started as a campaign to raise my funds, but I’m hoping it turns into more of an awareness of what’s happening and the policies that are being implemented on undocumented students and how unfair they are.”

For more information on Muñoz’s story, visit his GoFundMe page.

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