The author began studying undocumented students in the spring of 2006 to better understand the educational experiences of those who wanted to go to college or who were already in college. He invited three of his CGU (Claremont Graduate University) students--Richard Cortes, Heidi Coronado, and Karina Ramos--to join his research team. To better understand the issue and generate and activities that most college-bound students list on their college applications, he did not expect the high levels of community service and volunteering that they reported. These findings were particularly remarkable because these immigrant youth are so marginalized in our society. They have almost no legal rights, they can be deported at any time, are not eligible for any type of government services, cannot legally work, and most frustrating of all, they are not eligible for grants or loans to attend college. Among the most significant findings, they discovered that as a group, college-eligible undocumented students demonstrate academic achievement, leadership participation, and civic engagement patterns that are often above that of their US-citizen counterparts. Based on findings from his research, the author argues that the civic and academic dedication of undocumented students warrants at the very least official government recognition. Going a step further, the federal government can even support and encourage this type of civic commitment by rewarding such model behavior with legislation that provides a path to legalization. (Contains 7 notes.)