1. UNDOCUMENTED
IN AMERICA
Christian Hernandez
Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault Bilingual Outreach Advocate
UNIDOS Against Domestic Violence
Carrie Hogan
Coordinator of Academic Advising and Student Services
Carthage College
3. What does it mean to
be “undocumented?”
“The unauthorized resident immigrant population is
defined as all foreign-born non-citizens who are not legal
residents. Most unauthorized residents either entered
the United States without inspection or were admitted
temporarily and stayed past the date they were required
to leave. Unauthorized immigrants applying for
adjustment to lawful permanent resident status under
the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) are
unauthorized until they have been granted LPR status,
even though they may have been authorized to work.”
Hoefer, M., Rytina, N., & Baker, B. (2011). Estimates of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population Residing in the United States: January 2010.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Retrieved from http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/statistics/publications/ois_ill_pe_2010.pdf
4. Who makes up the
undocumented population?
American Immigration Council. (2014, August 19). Unauthorized Immigrants Today: A Demographic Profile. Retrieved from http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/just-
facts/unauthorized-immigrants-today-demographic-profile
Passel, J., Manuel Krogstad, J., & Gonzalez-Barrera, A. (2014, September 3). As Growth Stalls, Unauthorized Immigrant Population Becomes More Settled.
Retrieved from Pew Research Center: http://www.pewhispanic.org/2014/09/03/as-growth-stalls-unauthorized-immigrant-population-becomes-more-settled/
5. Los Angeles Times. (2007, April 8). Illegal? Better if you're Irish. Retrieved from
http://www.latimes.com/la-op-rodriguez8apr08-column.html
6. Nieves, E. (2015, September 14). Photographing Human Trafficking in New York. Retrieved from The New York Times:
http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/09/14/photographing-human-trafficking-in-new-york/?_r=0#
7. Acapulco Solidarity March with 43 Missing Ayotzinapa Students. (2014, October 17). Retrieved from teleSUR:
http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Acapulco-Solidarity-March-with-43-Missing-Ayotzinapa-Students-
20141017-0043.html
8. Why don’t undocumented
immigrants just get in line?
Country Applicants Limit per
country per
year
Mexico 1,323,978 25,900
Philippines 428,765 25,900
India 323,089 25,900
Vietnam 259,030 25,900
China (mainland) 243,440 25,900
Bureau of Consular Affairs. (2014). Annual Report of Immigrant Visa Applicants in the Family-sponsored and Employment-
based preferences Registered at the National Visa Center as of November 1, 2014. U.S. Department of State.
9.
10. A Brief Timeline…
• Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA)
Passed 1986
• Development, Relief, and Education for Alien
Minors (DREAM) Act
Introduced 2001
Reintroduced 2009-2012
Not yet passed
• Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
Passed 2012
• Expansion of DACA/DAPA
Not yet passed
11. Undocumented vs.
“DACA”mented
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
is an executive memo issued on June 15, 2012 offering
deferred action of deportation for undocumented persons
under the age of 31 who meet specific criteria.
• DACA does not provide an individual with a path to
lawful status.
• Through the Department of Homeland Security, DACA
recipients are granted the right to a driver's license, a
Social Security Number, and a work permit.
• DACA students are eligible for paid internships and
student employment.
13. The Youngest Generation of
Undocumented Immigrants
• “D.R.E.A.M.ers”
• Plyler vs. Doe (1982) the Court found that
states must educate children of undocumented
immigrants, interpreting the equal protection
clause of the 14th Amendment to apply to
anyone who lives in the U.S., regardless of
citizenship.
• Upon entering college, students are not eligible
for financial aid and often are required to pay
out of state tuition.
• Often these students have lived in the United
States for the majority of their lives, speak
fluent English, and are high achieving students.
14.
15. What’s happening
in Wisconsin?
• Most Wisconsin Technical Colleges offer
resident tuition regardless of status.
• Private colleges and universities don’t
have differential tuition based on
residence.
• UW-System institutions base eligibility for
residency on if a student is a ‘bona fide
resident’ as defined in Wisconsin Statutes
§36.27(2)(e).
• If the student is not a U.S. Citizen, they
cannot get in state tuition without
possession of a visa that permits indefinite
residence in the United States.
16. A Moral Dilemma
What would you do for the success of
your children?
Should children be punished for life for
a decision that their parent(s) made?
What is more important, a law or a life?
17. What are the consequences for
a child or young adult in this
situation?
• College enrollment and persistence
• Shame, confidence, and elevated levels
of anxiety (28.5%males, 26.5% females)
• Depression
• Unrealistic expectations from faculty
• Not having a sense of belonging
• Family stress
• Financial stress
• Physical health
18. What are some colleges and
universities doing to support
undocumented students?
• Talking to departments about ways they
support undocumented students
• Making resources easy and available
(Google your university, what do you see?)
• Being mindful of the language they use
(Undocumented vs Illegal) and remembering
that everyone is a person first
• Fostering inclusivity in different campus
spaces and creating safe spaces
• Starting campus organizations to discuss
these issues
• Encouraging students to share their stories
(powerful and therapeutic)
• Being a public “ally”
• Creating diversity and equity policies
• Having culturally competent mental health
practitioners
19. Most of all…
Educate Yourself on what it means to be
undocumented and understand the politics behind
the barriers these individuals face.
Engage in Discussions with faculty, students, staff,
family, and friends to see the ways they try to
understand people of different backgrounds.
Speak Up when you see a gap in services or
knowledge in your community to develop
increasingly culturally competent and socially
conscious practices.
Editor's Notes
Carrie and Christian: Introduce ourselves and how we became involved in this issue.
Carrie: Purpose of the presentation, not about changing your opinion or starting a debate but improving your understanding of the issue. Ground rules. Controversial – media, politics, beliefs. Complex – human rights or politics, many shades of grey between right and wrong. Unresolved – everyone knows it needs to change, but no one can agree on how to change it.
Carrie: Undocumented versus “illegal” versus unauthorized resident. Illegal describes the activity, not the person. We don’t call every person in prison illegal, we say that they did something illegal. Dispelling stereotypes: not just walking across the border in Mexico, and many who do want to be here legally.
Carrie: dispelling stereotypes: what the numbers don’t represent is that Mexico decreasing, others increasing. 15% represents 1.76 million people from other nations, including Canada.
Carrie: article from the Los Angeles Times. Reason: few opportunities for young and educated.
Carrie: another stereotype, tricked to immigrate illegally, again reason - work
Carrie: The reasons for leaving your country of origin are many and may be about more than just finding work. 43 male college students part of a larger demonstration protesting government funding and hiring practices that they said favored urban colleges over rural ones and preferentially hired students from those schools as teachers. In any debate, be willing to withhold judgement and admit that you don’t know what you don’t know.
Christian: Understanding the challenges in navigating the immigration system and realizing reform is needed if we are to fix this problem in our country. Few people understand how grossly out of date our immigration system is and how it is unable to keep up with the demands of a growing and changing U.S. economy. For nearly 20 years lawmakers have failed to update our immigration system. Overly restrictive limits on green cards means that virtually all undocumented immigrants have no avenues for legal entry.
Getting a green card is generally limited to four different routes: employment, certain family ties, refugee or asylee processing, and the diversity lottery (which is countries with low rates of immigration to the U.S.)
Christian: Understanding the challenges in navigating the immigration system and realizing reform is needed if we are to fix this problem in our country. Few people understand how grossly out of date our immigration system is and how it is unable to keep up with the demands of a growing and changing U.S. economy. For nearly 20 years lawmakers have failed to update our immigration system. Overly restrictive limits on green cards means that virtually all undocumented immigrants have no avenues for legal entry.
Getting a green card is generally limited to four different routes: employment, certain family ties, refugee or asylee processing, and the diversity lottery (which is countries with low rates of immigration to the U.S.)
Christian: IRCA allows for those that entered before 1982 to apply for citizenship (my Father entered in 1981 at the age of 16 and gained his citizenship this way)
Talk briefly about DREAM Act… Next slide is more info
(Be brief here too more info to come) DAPA for parents of Americans and legal lawful residents… Deferred action = administrative relief from deportation… Same cost for both programs
Getting a green card is generally limited to four different routes: employment, certain family ties, refugee or asylee processing, and the diversity lottery (which is countries with low rates of immigration to the U.S.)
Christian: - Have come to the United States before your sixteenth birthday.
- Have lived continuously in the U.S. since June 15, 2007.
- Have been present in the U.S. on June 15, 2012, and on every day since August 15, 2012.
- Not have a lawful immigration status on June 15, 2012. To meet this requirement, (1) you must have entered the U.S. without papers before June 15, 2012, or, if you entered lawfully, your lawful immigration status must have expired before June 15, 2012; and (2) you must not have a lawful immigration status at the time of your application.
- Be at least 15 years old at the time you apply for DACA. If you are currently in deportation proceedings, have a voluntary departure order, or have a deportation order, and are not in immigration detention, you may apply for DACA even if you are not yet 15 years old.
- Have graduated or obtained a certificate of completion from high school, have obtained a general education development (GED) certificate, be an honorably discharged veteran of the Coast Guard or U.S. armed forces, or “be in school” on the date you submit your DACA application. See below for more information about meeting the “be in school” requirement.
- Have not been convicted of a felony offense. A felony is a federal, state, or local criminal offense punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year.
- Have not been convicted of a significant misdemeanor offense or three or more misdemeanor offenses. See below for more information about offenses that may disqualify you.
- Not pose a threat to national security or public safety. (DHS has not defined what these terms mean but has indicated that they include gang membership, participation in criminal activities, or participation in activities that threaten the U.S.)
November 20th 2014 (Expanded DACA Program) Lived continuously in U.S. since January 1, 2010 … People born before 1981 Qualify… Renew status every three years…
Obamas Executive Order February 16th, 2015 Expansion of DACA/DAPA Program put on hold by Texas federal district court (Still to this day..) People can’t apply for this program currently…
“Living in the shadows , but working so one day they won’t have to, or working to send their kids to school”
“Dacamented less in the shadows but still have to work to go to school and to get other benefits. Dacamented gives them a little dignity insofar as they can get a license and work a job. They don’t have to live in constant fear…”
That’s the big ones the difference of the fear someone undocumented has to live with as opposed to someone with deferred action which, doesn’t face that immediate fear. There still is fear of what’s to come in the future. But not an immediate fear of being deported for whatever small mistake they make.
Licensing: NCLEX / health care professions…
Christian: Under current law, 50-65,000 students graduate from American high schools each year who have been in the U.S. more than five years but who face limited prospects for completing their education or working legally in the United States because they were originally brought here by parents lacking immigration status. Among those prevented from completing their education are valedictorians, honors students, award winners, class presidents, and student leaders.
These young people deserve a fresh start, both in fairness to them and in our national interest.
The DREAM Act would address this issue in two ways:
- by deleting a federal provision that interferes with a state's right to determine which students qualify as "residents" for purposes of in-state tuition or other state education benefits; and
- by providing a mechanism for certain long-term resident immigrant students with good moral character to apply for legal residency so that they can work and otherwise fully participate in their communities.
Temporary legal status if enrolled in college or enlisted in military. In 2010 it was filibustered (prolonged speech by congress that hinders progression) by the senate and now its under the overall comprehensive immigration reform
Government still takes away taxes (government uses them)
Christian: Discovering your true identity as an undocumented immigrant when you apply for drivers licenses, leave the country with the school, are asked for social security number / work permit.
Understanding the public benefits you will not be able to qualify for. (Obamacare, food stamps, energy assistance, tax returns, FAFSA)
History of poor schools that channeled children to futures of domestic service and manual labor, housing that was substandard and confined to certain neighborhoods, “invisibility” in political and social life, economic discrimination of all kinds, and the burden of the past – the “shame” of a parents’ having been a share cropper, a farm worker, a maid, or something more marginal.
Christian: In June 2001, Texas (HB1403) was the first state to pass legislation allowing in-state tuition for immigrant students, followed by California (AB540), Utah (HB144), and New York (SB7784) in 2001-2002; Washington (HB1079), Oklahoma (SB596)and Illinois (HB60) in 2003; Kansas (HB2145) in 2004; New Mexico (SB582) in 2005; Nebraska (LB239) in 2006; and Wisconsin (A75) in 2009 and Colorado in 2013. The state laws permitted these students to become eligible for in-state tuition if they graduate from state high schools, have two to three years residence in the state, and apply to a state college or university. The student must sign an affidavit promising to seek legal immigration status in all states except New Mexico. These requirements for unauthorized immigrant students are stricter than the residency requirements for out-of-state students to gain in-state tuition.
However, in 2011 Wisconsin repealed the resident tuition bill that had been passed in 2009. Before that year, In 2008, Oklahoma passed HB 1804 which ended its in-state tuition benefit, including financial aid, for students without lawful presence in the United States. The Act still allows the Oklahoma State Regents to enroll a student in higher education institutions permitted that they meet special requirements. Other states that have barred unauthorized immigrant students from in-state tuition benefits include Arizona (Proposition 300, 2006), Georgia (SB 492, 2008), and South Carolina (HB4400, 2008).
Christian:
Carrie
Christian: BP 2: work / school priorities
Cultural Disconnection, Outcast / Second-class citizens, Fear of being separatation from families (father / mother deported, who takes care of siblings?)
Christian: Familismo, comunidad, espiritualidad, personalismo (Latinos place great emphasis on personal relationships)
Mental health services (culturally competent / specific services understanding)… Death at home understanding different dynamics of violence (qualifying for food-stamps, health insurance/ medicaid)
Not understanding the next steps (necessity of mentors, advisors can’t fulfill this role fully [understanding deans, dropping classes])
Cultural Advising / Academic Center as a prospective opportunity
Money (providing for the family)… Budgeting, necessity of understanding financial dynamics w/ undocumented immigrants
Job / career readiness… Board Certifications (NCLEX, Residency, Work Permit)
