MARSHALL — Minnesota State Chancellor Scott Olson, Southwest Minnesota State University President Kumara Jayasuriya and Minnesota West Community and Technical College President Terry Gaalswyk affirm their support to its undocumented and international students, who may be experiencing uncertainty during this time amid the upcoming change of administration in the United States.

“No doubt, there’s going to be changes. But, our values haven’t changed,” Olson said. “For Minnesota to prosper, for Minnesota to grow, for Minnesota to have the kind of workforce that Minnesota wants and deserves, it’s going to need everybody.”

Undocumented students, those who are not a citizen or legal resident, are allowed to study and pursue higher education in the United States. However, they cannot receive federal financial aid for college, and have to look in other directions to receive financial assistance.

People may be classified as ‘undocumented’ if they are brought to the country as a child by an undocumented parent, or enter legally with a nonimmigrant visa that has expired.

The Minnesota Dream Act and Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) are two of the current laws that protect undocumented students in the state.

FERPA protects the privacy of student education records, including immigration status.

“Our requirement for admission (in Minnesota colleges) is a high school diploma … Nowhere on their admission application, do they ask, ‘Are you undocumented?,'” Olson said. “We don’t know what’s going to happen, but if folks from immigration showed up at their door and said, ‘Give me a list of all your students who are undocumented,’ they would say, ‘I don’t have it. I can’t help can’t help you.'”

The Minnesota Dream Act, available at all Minnesota higher education institutions, is a state law that provides financial aid and in-state tuition rates to undocumented students. To be eligible, students must have attended a Minnesota high school for at least three years, earned a diploma or GED and complied with Selective Service requirements.

“We’re going to absolutely follow federal law and state law, always,” Olson said. “But, we’re also going to lean into the idea of being inclusive and give everybody a shot at the American dream.”

According to the Higher Ed Immigration Portal, the United States holds about 408,000 undocumented students in colleges or universities. There are approximately 3,000 undocumented students graduating high school each year.

International students who come to study in the United States are typically on a J-1 Visa, which allows legal status for people to participate in exchange programs.

SMSU hosts about 200 international students from over 27 countries.

“Visa approval rate might change, so that might affect how many students we can bring in. But at this point, actually, there are 37 new international students today,” Jayasuriya said on Monday, the first day of spring semester. “37 new international students for spring semester is unusual (more than average), and that shows that Visa approval rate has gone up, at least for SMSU. But, that can change.”

MNWest, which currently has about 32 international students, also voices its support alongside the Minnesota state education system and SMSU when it comes to its community.

“If any event or something occurs within any of our communities, I think what you’ll see is that the college and the universities are prepared with compassion and grace to meet the students where they’re at, and to provide for their well being,” Gaalswyk said. “We’re attentive to our students. We know who our students are, and we’ll meet them with whatever services they need at a particular moment in time, regardless of who those students are.”