Transcript Undocumented/AB 540 Students in Higher Education

PRACTITIONER ADVOCACY TO IMPROVE
UNDOCUMENTED STUDENT SUCCESS
Santiago Bernal, UCLA
Angela Chuan-Ru Chen, UCLA
NASPA National Conference | 3.8.2010
Please note that images included in the original presentation have been removed in effort to protect student privacy.
TERMINOLOGY
COMMON
PREFERRED
• Aliens
• Undocumented
• Illegal(s)
• Unprotected
• Tax Residents
• Unauthorized
(UN)DOC-YOU-MENTED
 Select a bag
 Please take 5 minutes to place the following items in
the bag:
 Your Drivers License or ID
 Your ATM/Bank Card/Credit Cards
 Your Social Security Cards
 Your Health Insurance Card
 Seal the bag and place the bag in the middle of room
(UN)DOC-YOU-MENTED
 What was it like to drop your cards and place them out of your
reach?
 How many of you did not complete or were unwilling to complete
the activity? Why?
 Without these items, where do you think you would be today?
What would you do? What would you have access to?
 As a student what would you do if you weren’t allowed to drive?
You can’t prove your age? Can’t work legally?
In State Tuition
State
Year of passage
Financial Aid
Texas
2001
YES
California
2001
NO
Utah
2002
NO
New York
2002
NO
Washington
2003
NO
Illinois
2003
NO
Oklahoma
2003
Limited
Kansas
2004
NO
New Mexico
2005
YES
Nebraska
2006
NO
Wisconsin
2009
NO
AB 540 ELIGIBILITY
1) Attended CA HS for 3+ years
2) Graduated from CA HS or attained GED
3) Registered or currently enrolled at accredited institution of higher
education
•
Only applies to public institutions
4) Filed an affidavit as required by individual institution, stating intent to
apply for legal residency as soon as one is eligible
•
Confidential - Not public record
“Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors”
Pathway to citizenship & financial aid eligibility
1) Evidence of arrival in US at 15 years of age or younger
2) Live in US for 5+ consecutive years following arrival
3) Be between age 12-35 during enactment of bill
4) Earn HS diploma/GED from US HS
5) Demonstrate “good moral character”
• Lead to 6 years “conditional status” to complete minimum of 2 years of higher
education or military service
• Then become eligible to APPLY for permanent residency
UNDOCUMENTED STUDENT PIPELINE
 1.7 million undocumented youth in the U.S.
 Every year, 80,000 undocumented students
become 18 years old (Passel, 2003)
 Of these, 65,000 graduate from high school
 13,000-16,000 do not complete high school
 7,000-13,000 enroll in college
 40% of undocumented youth reside in California
PERSONAL DETERRENT
 Limited financial support from family to help cover the cost of
fees, books and personal expenses
 Transportation (commuting on the bus for many hours each way
because they can not afford to live in university housing)
 Working excessive hours (no work = no education)
 Family obligations — helping with household and sibling
responsibilities
 May feel a sense of hopelessness and helplessness
 Current immigration laws that limit opportunities to legalize their
residency status
 Fear of being detected by immigration authorities
EDUCATIONAL DETERRENTS
 Inability to obtain financial aid from the institution
 Inability to pursue academic careers that require state licensing,
background checks or Social Security numbers (nursing, law,
teaching, etc.)
 Inability to travel and participate in conferences, field trips or
research colloquiums
 Inability to accept paid internships or qualify for on-campus
student employment
 Inability to provide identification affects the ability to take tests
for graduate school, i.e., GRE, MCAT and/or LSAT
 Inability to work in the chosen professional field after graduation
INSTITUTIONAL DETERRENTS
 Limited information regarding state provisions
 Overall lack of commitment by campuses to serve these students
 Insensitivity, rudeness and demeaning attitude
 In some states, students being turned away or denied access for
failure to provide unnecessary documentation such as a Social
Security number, driver’s license and/or residency
documentation
STUDENT EXPERIENCES
•
Struggling to Succeed
•
Feeling the pressure of being a role model
•
Coping with frustration and uncertainty
•
Managing life as a “hidden” member of society
•
Missing out on opportunities
•
Perception of self as compared to other students
•
Complications in utilizing campus services
(Albrecht, 2007)
INSTITUTIONAL RESPONSE
•
Importance of alternative social networks (Oliverez, 2006)
•
College administrators are unaware of current and relevant
legislations or are slow to adopt favorable policies (Abrego,
2006; Albrecht, 2007; Feranchak, 2007; Oliverez, 2006)
•
Discrepant attitudes among higher education leaders on
providing educational benefits (Feranchak, 2007)
•
Lack of standard policy/practice (Albrecht, 2007; Biswas, 2005;
Feranchak, 2007)
CALL TO ACTION
RECOMMENDATIONS
 Develop a systematic way to disseminate information
and assist students as they move through high school
and college.
 Identify allies- counselors and teachers in high schools
,community colleges and community agencies to assist
students and parents
 Educate students and their advocates about their postsecondary options.
 Educate students about how to correctly complete the
college and scholarship application processes.
FUNDRAISING
 Provide students with useful scholarship lists and
applications and assist them as they apply for scholarships.
 Work with scholarship providers in your area to encourage
them to offer funding to undocumented students.
 Help students develop a portfolio to use when soliciting
donations.
 Create own fund for your students
 Start a book loan system for students
 Ask professors to donate books to students
 Help students find other creative ways to fund their
education (e.g., family members, teachers, parents’
employers, local business, large companies).
NETWORK
 Sponsor meetings for students to meet faculty, staff and
administrators
 Connect students with advocates and resources on your
campus and in the community.
 Create opportunities for students to begin a support
network.
 Connect families with the parents of undocumented
students to begin a network of support.
 Connect students/families with reputable agencies
offering free or low cost immigration services.
BUILDING A SUPPORT NETWORK
University or College Campus Resources:
 Identify official campus representative(s)
 Identify campus allies (faculty, staff, & studentsCreate SAFE Zones)
 Establish student organizations
 Find community organization referrals
 Seek reputable legal assistance
 Conduct campus and community educational
forums regarding the DREAM Act or state bills
CALL TO ACTION
 Encourage and demonstrate to students how to become politically
active.
 Contact local, state and federal organizations, advocacy groups to
support and assist their efforts.
 Contact local business to educate them about the benefits to their
bottom line of educating these students
 Contact National Associations to encourage them to prioritize
this issue for their federal advocacy
 Contact your elected officials to show support for proposed
legislation at the state and national level.
 Advocate with established scholarships to remove citizen or
residency requirements and establish local Scholarships.
SCHOLARSHIP RESOURCES
 Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund
 www.maldef.org/pdf/Scholarships.pdf
 Latino College Dollars
 www.latinocollegedollars.org/DIRECTORY.pdf
•
Paying for College Student Resource Guide
 http://www.house.gov/roybalallard/2007_Student_resource_guid
e.pdf
 Salvadoran-American Leadership and Educational Fund
 http://www.salef.org/
 Scholarshipsaz.org (non-profit organization based in Arizona)
 Nakasec.org
INFORMATION
 National Immigration Law Center – Adey
Fisseha
 www.nilc.org
 MALDEF: Mexican American Legal Defense
and Educational Fund
 www.maldef.org
 DREAM Act Websites
 www.DREAMActivist.org
 www.DREAMAct2009
 Religious Organizations
ALLY CONSCIOUSNESS
 Acknowledges that AB 540 and other undocumented students have a
legal right to be enrolled in the university
 Becomes informed about the rights afforded by law to AB 540 students
 Finds legal alternatives
 Acknowledge the privileges of citizenship and legal residency
 Listens openly, yet does not interrogate the student on their
immigration status
 Do not “out” them to others, without the student’s permission
ALLY CONSCIOUSNESS
 Do not encourage students to act on matters that may compromise
them when they have the opportunity to adjust their status
 Handle student’s emotions with reserve, empathy, and support
 Creates a climate of trust that allows the student to reveal their
situation at their own pace
 Makes referrals and follows up to assess the effectiveness of the referral
 Is clear about his or her own personal motivation in becoming an Ally
 Is committed to maintaining confidentiality and respecting the privacy
of people who are undocumented
Thank you
“Equality among students is the first step to achieve
equality in the world” -- “anonymous” student
Santiago Bernal
Assistant Director
UCLA Center for Community Partnerships
[email protected]
Angela Chuan-Ru Chen
Doctoral Candidate, UCLA Dept. of Education
[email protected]
Additional Resources
Link to Journal: www.nacacnet.org
The special winter issue of the Journal of College Admission featuring undocumented.
Link to Short Documentary: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jI7J2b3t4WU
The story of Stephanie, a DREAM Act Student