At a recent school night at Mansueto High School in Chicago’s Back of the Yards neighborhood, college recruiters from across Illinois stepped into an unlikely audience that had every reason to believe college wasn’t for them. The event was the sixth annual college fair hosted by the Noble Schools charter network specifically for undocumented students.

“It’s very welcoming because the universities are saying, ‘Yes, come to us, we’ve got you.’ We will help you pay for it. We will give you a scholarship. We will build this club,” said college counselor Brisa Angel as she watched her students talk to recruiters. “It’s one thing to see it on a page: ‘Okay, these are your options.’ And a whole other thing is to walk into a trade show and talk to people who say, ‘Yes, we have these resources.'”

Kevin Guzman, a student at ITW David Speer Academy on Chicago’s West Side, said before the event that he doubted college was a possibility for him because of his immigration status.

“I was actually going to join the military because I thought it would be the easy way out. … I was going to get my citizenship and I was going to get a lot of money,” Guzman said. “I look at universities here now and think: ‘Okay, maybe, Maybe There is a chance for me.”

For years, undocumented students have been told in ways large and small that they do not belong in college. They do not have access to federal financial aid and, in most states, must pay out-of-state tuition without the help of state grants.

But in Illinois, undocumented students a better shot while getting into and paying for college. The state is one of 19 states where undocumented students can apply for state funding and one of 25 where they pay in-state tuition.

Equally important is the network of adults who work overtime to help these students navigate the maze of paperwork and find a campus where they can get the support they need to succeed. This network includes Angel, an undocumented high school student who once had college dreams.

His efforts come at a time when tuition and student debt are rising and more Americans are questioning the value of college. a survey A survey published by Gallup in July found that nearly a third of Americans have little or no confidence in higher education.

But Angel’s work, and that of advocates for undocumented students across the state, amounts to a rejection of college skepticism from one of the communities with the least access to college.

“College is not the only way to be successful. That’s true,” said Aidé Acosta, chief college advisor for the Noble network. “But do we say this to all children? Or do we only say this to Black and brown kids? This university is not possible for them because I refuse to revive sexist and racial tropes about our communities.”

Acosta, who was once undocumented, said his parents did not have college degrees and were forced to work long hours in physically taxing jobs. He said they wanted something different for him.

“We often talk to students who are learning for the first time what their status means and feeling hopeless,” he said. “And I always remind them that education is the one thing that no one can take away from you, no matter where you are in the world.”

He said it’s something students can hold on to when there’s so much they can’t grasp, including their legal status in this country.

Lisa Kurian Philip covers WBEZ’s higher education in partnership with: Open Campus. Follow him on Twitter @LAPhilip.