El Paso, TEXAS (CNN) — Every Monday, 18-year-old Consuelo Monarrez awakes at 5 a.m. On the morning radio, the disc jockey shoots off rapid-fire Spanish and then switches to English to introduce the music of The Doors. An all-American teen, Monarrez meticulously perfects her make-up to get that ideal "high-school senior" look. She does it all and still leaves enough time to make it across the line.

What line?

The line between Juarez, Mexico, where she lives on the weekends and El Paso, Texas, where she goes to school during the week. Down here the border is referred to as "the line," or in Spanish, "la linea." Monarrez is one of an unknown number of young people who cross la linea every week — or sometimes every day — just to go to school.

"It's hard to cross so often," say Monarrez. "Sometimes I can wait in my car for over an hour just to get to the other side. But I did this because I have dreams. I want to work for NASA. If I stayed in Mexico, I might be just like my mom, who owns a grocery store. That's fine, but I want more for myself."

Monarrez is one of the lucky ones. She isn't breaking any laws. She is an American citizen. And she lives with her uncle during the week. He has a house within the school district. But other young people committed to getting a U.S. education are breaking immigration laws just to go to school.

One of Monarrez's friends went one step further. Her parents, who live in Juarez, gave their daughter up for adoption to an aunt, who lives in El Paso, just so she could go to school in the United States.

But not everyone in El Paso is happy about these student border crossings. Conservative radio talk show host Greg Fyermouth riles his listeners with tales of thousands of students crossing the border daily. Some El Paso residents complain about the high taxes they must pay. But no one really knows the numbers of students crossing illegally. Last year the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service caught only 12 undocumented students.

"With limited resources and manpower, we make decisions about our priorities, " said Mexican-born Luis Garcia, who heads up the INS sector covering the students. "These kids are going to school and will end up getting jobs and benefitting the El Paso-Juarez region. If it's between catching these kids or drug dealers or smugglers, I know who I want my men to catch."

At Ysleta High School, principal Ralph Ornelas makes it a point not to ask his students for immigration papers. All the documentation he needs to see is an electric bill that shows they live in the district.

"All I care about is that they are good students who behave and contribute to the school. I am in the business of educating students no matter where they come from," Ornelas explained.

And where do they end up?

Monarrez is on her way to a Texas state college with an ROTC scholarship from ROTC. One year, Ysleta High School sent five students to MIT.

But some of their best students have had to turn down top colleges and scholarships because they did not have the necessary immigration papers.

Watch Maria Hinojosa's video report Thursday, June 7 on CNN.