Alondra Orozco had her post-high school plans laid out early. The Ritenour High School graduate was introduced to nursing through a certified nursing assistant class she took at North Technical High School her junior year.
Despite having a clear career plan at an early age, nothing prepared her for the roadblocks to come. Orozco is a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipient. She and her family moved from Chihuahua, Mexico, to the St. Louis region when she was 5 years old. She grew up in St. Louis with her siblings and chose to enroll in St. Charles Community College’s nursing program because the school was close to her family home in O’Fallon. After passing her exams and graduating, Orozco was blindsided by devastating news: She’s unable to obtain her license in Missouri because of her citizenship status.
This was a blow to Orozco and her family, especially her parents.
“I'm the first person in our family to go to college, and this is all they really wanted, to see me pursue what I want,” Orozco told St. Louis on the Air. “And the deeper I got into nursing school, the deeper I would find out that I really, really loved it.”
She said that during her two years at St. Charles Community College, none of her professors nor advisers indicated that Missouri’s nursing board would not allow her to take the National Council Licensure Examination in her home state. According to the school's chief of staff, no one was available to comment on how students who are non-U.S. citizens are advised.
Undeterred, Orozco decided to move to another state that would permit her to take the exam. She chose Kansas, one of 42 compact nursing states along with Missouri. “My initial thought was, ‘I’ll just move, test over there and get my multistate license.’ Then I’d be able to practice in Missouri as well,” Orozco said. “Then shortly after I got my license in Kansas I tried to apply for endorsement in Missouri. They again said no, due to not having the green card or U.S. citizenship.”
Missouri’s nursing board said it's bound by federal law that prohibits non-U.S. citizens from obtaining certain professional licenses, including registered nursing licenses. St. Louis University health law professor Kelly Gillespie said that while such law does exist, there is room for Missouri to make a change if it wants to, as Kansas, Illinois, Arkansas and other states across the country have done.
“[Missouri nursing board is] referencing a particular piece of legislation from the late '90s that says people who do not have authorization to work or are not here legally are not eligible for certain public benefits, and those public benefits are defined to include professional licensure,” Gillespie said. “However, the piece of the story and the reason why many states do allow folks in these situations like DACA recipients to be licensed is that there's a subsection of that law that says a state can opt out of this prohibition. They can take an affirmative action to opt out. That's what the states where it is allowable have done, and they've done it a couple of different ways.”
Orozco took extra steps to get licensure for herself, going as far as getting her license endorsed in Illinois, where she plans to work as a registered nurse. She also wants to share her story as a cautionary tale and push Missouri to reconsider prohibiting DACA recipients and other non-U.S. citizens from professional licensure. She’s started a Change.org petition that has more than 16,000 signatures in support of her cause, especially while Missouri faces a severe nursing shortage.
The roadblocks between Orozco and becoming a registered nurse in Missouri along with the growing number of supporters on her petition have hardened her resolve.
“It shows the fact that it's not just me wanting to make the change. A lot of people have come forward and said: ‘This is ridiculous. Absolutely, I will sign in a heartbeat because this is not fair,’” she said. “My biggest wish for this not to ever happen to anybody else.”
To learn more about how U.S. states allow DACA recipients like Alondra Orozco to become nurses, how she plans to continue her campaign and the road trip she took to get her license in Illinois, listen to St. Louis on the Air on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or click the play button below.
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Jada Jones is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr.
