The purpose of this website is to address the many challenges undocumented and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) students face when attempting to pursue higher education. Undocumented and DACA students face ever-changing social and emotional challenges each day. Those obstacles are financial hurdles, learning a second language, emotional stress and, anxiety due to the constant policy changes. Often, this population is ignored or pushed to the side by the government, institutions, professors, and counselors who are not empathetic to their needs and cannot fully address their concerns due to a lack of services and funding.
Broken Immigrations system
DACA recipients have been at the center of immigration reform and debates for several years now. Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Act (DACA) was signed as an executive order in 2012 by former President Barack Obama as a response to the failure to pass the DREAM act.
In relation to higher education students, this aid has looked like merit-based scholarships, the creation of “sanctuary” cities and schools, and immigrant offices in universities. Although these resources have created tangible change for many illegalized students, we would like to continue to gather resources that can be created when the people at the forefront of advocacy are affected. Immigration is a hot topic in politics and social work.
However, undocumented migrants are rarely included in the macro conversation of immigration reform, even though they often are the most vulnerable. Our resources will highlight the possibilities for reframing narratives around immigration reform to advocate for all migrants in an equitable way, not only those that play into respectability politics and the American guide of meritocracy.
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