The 9 teachers who just received awards from the White House were all in the U.S. illegally.
Jaime Ballesteros first realized just how much his immigration status mattered when he started looking at colleges.
He didn't have a Social Security number ? and without that, he wouldn't be able to apply for schools alongside his peers, who were considering colleges like Harvard and Yale.
He knew what was wrong. Born in the Philippines, Jaime came to the U.S. with his parents and older brother when he was 11 years old. His father had a temporary work visa tied to his job as an accountant, which allowed him to bring his wife and children with him.
The 9 teachers who just received awards from the White House were all in the U.S. illegally.