With the announcement that Community College System President Scott Ralls, after the recommendation of Attorney General Roy Cooper, will prevent illegal immigrants from attending North Carolina community colleges, I am reminded of the story of Alfredo Quinones, an illegal migrant worker from Mexico who entered California in 1987.

Fortunately, California had an open policy for undocumented people in its community college system. Quinones began attending classes there, eventually receiving scholarships to the University of California at Berkeley and then to medical school at Harvard. He is now a leading neurosurgeon at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore.

How many lost opportunities for other Quinones will there be in North Carolina because of the restrictive policies recommended by our attorney general?

Cynthia Powell

Chapel Hill

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