Hospitals, Policy

The first undocumented med-school student wouldn’t take “no” for an answer

Undocumented students have previously been able to study and finish university programs at the undergraduate […]

Undocumented students have previously been able to study and finish university programs at the undergraduate level, but what about higher degrees?

Jirayut Latthivongskorn, a premed student graduated from the University of California (Berkeley) wanted to go to medical school, but it wasn’t an easy feat to make it happen, considering there wasn’t a lot of information on why it hadn’t been done previously.

“People who were supposed to have answers were telling us that they didn’t know how to help us,” said Latthivongskorn. He was born in Thailand and moved to the San Francisco Bay area when he was 9 years old. “It felt disempowering, very discouraging.”

Latthivongskorn and two other undocumented classmates ended up calling admissions offices, mentors, and friends around the country to see if they knew a fellow “Dreamer” who had made it into medical school. No such luck.

“It was very much like trying to find a unicorn,” Latthivongskorn said.

Latthivongskorn’s dream school was the University of California (San Francisco), one of the top-ranked medical schools in the country. After first being rejected, he has now been accepted thanks to a new group of medical schools that has decided to accept students like himself.

One of the main issues that became apparent was that illegal immigrants wouldn’t be able to qualify for loans and financial aid, which would make medical school incredibly difficult.

Luckily for Latthivongskorn, California had recently passed laws allowing undocumented immigrants to apply for state-funded financial aid and student loans, and to obtain professional licenses. His biggest obstacle now is the uncertain future of Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. If the next president abolishes DACA, and if immigration reform remains stalled in Congress, then he cannot legally work at a hospital as a medical resident.

“It’s surreal and crazy that I’m here even,” said Latthivongskorn. He is finishing up his first semester at UCSF and would like in the future to work as a doctor in poor countries like his own.

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