Marcia Zug, an assistant professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law, said the law is popular among South Carolinians and likely would hold up under legal challenges. She and a co-author addressed the issue in an article that will appear in the Charleston Law Review this spring.
They pointed out that students will not be able to use their education to work legally in the United States. If Rodrigues completed her nursing degree, she would not be able to receive a license legally.
Zug points to the federal DREAM Act, introduced in 2005, as counterpoint. The act, which has failed to win congressional approval, would open a path to citizenship for people 16 or younger when they entered the country and who entered five years before the act's passage. After earning an associate degree or serving two years in the military, a person could get conditional residency. And, after six years and a demonstration of good moral character, the person would be able to apply for citizenship.
Rodrigues said the sting of that January day when she was turned away is fading. She is deferring her dream. “If they want me (in college), I'll go. If not, I'll go on with my life and see how it goes,'' she said. “I'm just numb at this point.''
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