Undocumented student not allowed to register at Trident Tech - WCBD-TV: News, Weather, and Sports for Charleston, SC

In June of 2012 President Obama signed a memo called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). DACA went into effect in August, allowing undocumented young people who came to the U.S. as children to register at higher education campuses if they meet DACA standards.

Now a 27-year-old who meets DACA requirements is not allowed to register at Trident Technical College in North Charleston because the college says they are in compliance with South Carolina law.

Tuesday the DACA recipient with the Latino Association of Charleston stood on campus in protest of the school's registration decision.

President of Trident Technical College, Dr. Mary Thornley said, "We want to be the place of opportunity for all students who want to improve their lives through education and training. However, we have no choice when it comes to complying with state and federal law."

Yet, President of the Latino Association of Charleston, Diana Salazar said they do have a choice and are not in compliance with DACA.

DACA is different from the Dreamers Act which aims for citizenship of young people who grew up in the U.S. Instead DACA requires young people to pay a fee of $465, have a high school diploma or be currently enrolled in school, have no felony or misdemeanor offenses and continuously resided in the country from June 2007 to present in order to pursue higher education.

Watch News 2 at 5 and 6:00 to find out more on how one local recipient still is being denied admission.