In the wake of Donald Trump’s election as president, many undocumented college students, like Indira Islas, have reported distress, anxiety and fears, not only for their own situations but for their families. Patrick Magoon, president and CEO of Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, reported an increased demand for counseling services in colleges and schools, and calls to mental health hotlines have increased by 200% at the state level and 250% at the national level.
President Trump has pledged to end the Obama administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which would threaten the education and future of 700,000 undocumented students who are registered under the program. Students, faculty and staff on college campuses across the country have responded by asking their school leaders to make their institutions sanctuary campuses; asking their institutions to protect their undocumented students by not offering information about these students and allowing them to be deported.
How far colleges can or will go to establish sanctuary campuses is uncertain, but in the meantime, educators on college campuses can offer support to undocumented students.
As faculty members who conduct research and do community activism on issues related to undocumented students at DePaul University, a campus that has pledged solidarity with undocumented students, we have found seven ways that educators can support undocumented college students.
Consider the symbol your institution represents and the role that education plays in students’ hopes and dreams.
Understand that being undocumented is only one aspect of a student’s multifaceted identity, and that their legal status does not encompass all of who they are. Their identities and aspirations are complex, deep and diverse and their education is a path that fulfills these various identities. For undocumented students, or DREAMERS, your educational institution represents not only growth in knowledge, economic and social capital, but also a key to the world around them – an open door to opportunity, affirmation as human beings who are valued and of worth, capable of important and necessary work. Many of them, through their education, feel they have been granted the privilege and opportunity to do great things. In this context, they are affirmed — they are not regarded as “alien” or “illegal” — they are not othered. Your ongoing commitment to them as an educator and mentor providing rich opportunities in their everyday life is a significant contribution to their sense of being valued.
Make your position known and encourage others to do the same.
