Brenda Ramos
Writing 39C
Christopher Varela
3-17-17
The DACAmented Plan
Research has shown that a majority of people who have a college education tend to earn more than those who only have a high school diploma, and those who hold a high school diploma earn more than high school dropouts. There are multiple reasons why students dropout of college, but Latinos are titled with the highest dropout rate (figure 1). Excelling in education is different for all students, but those who come from low socioeconomic status, have no documentation, and who do not receive the same support compared to their peers tend to do worse compared to those who have the resources and the support to go to college. For undocumented students, the pathway of going to college wasn’t easy and perhaps not a plausible action, until the Obama Administration implemented the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. With this program, undocumented students could hold more benefits such as obtaining a worker’s permit, a social security number, and are under temporary protection from deportation as they live in the United States. The United States is progressing into an educational system where an emphasis on a college education is essential, yet the 2016 presidential election has shown that fear has overwhelmed undocumented students from pursuing a college degree as they await their fate over their legal status. A need of action to protect DACA students is essential in order to provide undocumented students who want an education to pursue college and to fight those who want to take their opportunity away from them. This can be achieved by providing DACA students with a safe space, fighting back the Trump administration, and changing the stigma within ourselves and our society.
The Barriers We Put Up
At schools we tell children the golden rule (figure 2) is to “treat others as you would want to be treated,” yet as we grow older, we see that the golden rule isn’t as practiced as it was when it was displayed in our classrooms. As children grow older, they start to practice this rule less and less and when this rule is no longer as highly practiced, it is those who do not have a voice who suffer. Schools tend to prefer those who have a voice, and having a voice is usually correlated with having a high socioeconomic status, race privileges, and doing well in school. Schools tend to see the students who are opposite of that structure as a problem or deficient instead of seeing them as students who need attention and help. Because we don’t see the students succeeding and doing as well as their others peers, we’ll tend to categorize all of one’s race and label them as lazy or unintelligent or inattentive. When children don’t follow the social contract provided by schools, such as giving up their freedom in exchange of an education, we tend to give up on them and pay attention to the few who make the effort without realizing that the ones who don’t put in the effort are the ones that need the most help.
A barrier that the education system puts up is the idea of colorblindness. With colorblindness, we see that we are viewing the White race as the background race and as the model for the rest of the other races and ethnicities. A “colorblindness belief prevents an individual from understanding how the historical nature of discrimination, politics, policy, and economics marginalized racial and ethnic minorities and subsequently limited access and opportunity. Furthermore, such a belief prevents educators from understanding that black and Latino student misbehaviors are sometimes responses borne out of despair, anger, frustration, and fear of continuous marginalization. (Fergus, 33)” When we use colorblindness (figure 3), we tend to misunderstand students of color and unfortunately end up promoting discrimination and bias as it maintains a white cultural frame. When we look at things through a White framework, we fail to see where these students come from. By neglecting undocumented students, we take away their voice, and disregard their fears as we tend to only focus on the model students. By having these views, the education system is succeeding in establishing an environment where undocumented students feel like they don’t belong, that no one believes in them, and by promoting a negative self-fulfillment prophecy of dropping out of high school because DACA students don’t think that they can succeed with the oppression that the schools puts them in. Our first step is to figure out what the problems are that are affecting undocumented students before we can break them.
The Barriers We Must Break Down
Inequality happens because society has put us in a Racial Formation Framework. This framework “considers how the significance of racial categories are determined by historical, social, economic, and political forces, and that racial categories signify social conflicts that influence how society is structured, (Inequality Conchas, 30)” With this framework, we see that race is a social construct that highlights our differences from our skin color. Racism is the idea of a group discriminating against another or oppressing them. Society uses race to dictate where people lie and promote social inequalities. Within our society, we see that Latino students are being oppressed not only in society but in school too (Figure 4). We have negative stereotypes about them as we hold them to be culturally deficient. This term means that we undermine a student’s ability due to their race or culture. We blame parents for having teaching their child their culture instead of accepting the United States’ culture. This deficient framework of undocumented students hampers their ability to think that they can do well in school. When they start to think that no one believes in them or that they were meant to be the role society has created for them, undocumented students begin to fall into the sell-fulfillment prophecy that dictates them to be high-school dropouts and pregnant teens. As schools reflect our society, it is on us to break down the negative stereotypes that have evolved.
In school, we find that there is a academic achievement gap between Whites and Latinos. We need to figure out how to close this gap instead of increasing it. As oppression and discrimination in the school system still exists, we need to get rid of the stigma that undocumented students aren’t valuable in our school system. This starts within ourselves as we try to get rid of the stereotypes that we hold on undocumented students. This includes of getting rid of offensive words that are hurtful to undocumented students, or not engaging in microaggressions. Microaggressions are small statements or remarks that people can say or gesture that are degraded toward someone, such as saying, “you’re the smartest Latino I’ve ever met,” or, “you must be very good at soccer.”
As we tackle the barriers among ourselves, we must not neglect our school and the school curriculum. When schools have the zero-tolerance policy, “one of the most harmful disciplinary practices in the district, and statewide, as it’s the employment of a ‘willful defiance’ standard for assessing student behavior (Burciaga, 169)”, we are putting our undocumented students at risk. The zero-tolerance policy is known for creating the school-to-prison pipeline but a new fear known as the school-to-deportation pipeline has emerged. When DACA students get in trouble for the smallest issues, such as writing on the desk, talking too loudly, etc., they are more likely to get suspended as the zero-tolerance policy prefers to target minority students than white students. An equal playing group must be put up in our education system where all students are treated the same and no race should have an advantage against the other.
How To Build Bridges
Building bridges is nowhere near the possibility of building a wall. By building bridges, we make our students feel safe, and to help them succeed in pursuing a higher education, or letting them know that we care. We can do this by making their school environment a safe place where they can be themselves and acquire the help that they need. We must now take our deficient framework and apply the Critical Race Theory. This theory “challenges the dominant discourse on race and racism as it relates to education by examining how educational theory and practice are used to subordinate certain racial and ethnic groups (Solorzano and Yosso, 2).” What this means is that we need to acknowledge that race plays a certain factor that disengages our minority students and promotes the majority. By this theory, we should be able to see that race is a problem that dictates how a student progresses, the classes they take, how they are treated, and try to get rid of that structure and apply a fair ground for all races where they are given the same equal opportunity without neglecting those who need more help. The Critical Race Theory also inspire us to use this theory as a social justice approach where we need to challenge dominant ideology, strive toward a commitment to social justice, recognize the centrality of experiential knowledge, such as recognizing that the opinions and ideas from all races and gender is appropriate, to understand where students come from, and to practice an interdisciplinary perspective where we recognized where race has come from by looking back at history so that we don’t repeat the same mistakes (Soloranzo and Yosso 2-3).
Our first action should take place in the school environment. As educators, we should practice in being multicultural educators where we don’t advocate colorblindness but rather teach to all students coming from every race. By doing this, our goal is to become institutional agents. An institutional agent “includes higher education professionals who are in a position to serve and support college students (e.g., academic advisors, multicultural support services, admissions and registration staff, tutorial services, career counselors, and other student affairs professionals) can be a guidance counselor, a teacher, a person who works in the schools, and even those who don’t. (Stebleton and Aleixo, 258)” The duty of an institutional agent is to care for the young individual and to help them acquire social capital. Social capital consists of the opportunities that students wouldn’t had received if it weren’t for their social ties. By proving a social capital for all students, we see that lower SES students are now leveling the playing field as they are exposed to more information and resources as their higher SES peers. An institutional agents build a student-teacher relationship, undocumented students soon begin to feel that they are cared for and they matter. Institutional agents also dismiss oppositional culture that Latino students hold within themselves.
Oppositional culture is the idea of when Latinos do not expect much of their academic or labor market work because society has made their race inferior and therefore, they begin to think that they are inferior as well. This relationship with an institutional agent is really important because when they have a feeling that someone believes in them, they start to believe in themselves too and begin warming up to the idea of pursuing something greater than a dead end job such as in the example of Smith High School. A Male Academy was created where Black youths would get together and were offered academic motivation, confidence, aspirations, and engagement towards people in the program. This space helped .them by providing them with support in whatever endeavors they decided to take and also gifting them social capital. The Male Academy “impelled students to view college as a viable option, and their high school education as a critical step on the path to college (Drake, 87)”. As the students were in the program, they began to defy the school’s expectations of them by going to more challenging courses, participating, and proving the stereotypes wrong. Institutional agents are crucial in promoting a college-going culture for undocumented students as they have someone they can go to if they need advice and that can help them out on another level instead of just focusing on classroom work.
Institutional agents are also a big help in creating Community Based Organizations (CBO’s). With CBO’s, undocumented students have a space where they can be themselves by sharing their own fears, making friends in the meantime, and receiving more resources. A community based organization can be as small or as big as it deems fits. This is the Universities own call to sanctuary. “Thirty-six universities had committed to support undocumented students, including by making pledges of non-cooperation with immigration enforcement, specifically prohibiting immigration agents from entering campuses and refusing to share information about students’ status, unless forced by warrants or court order. (Ngai, 18)” The University of California, Irvine, is a sanctuary school where clubs and spaces for undocumented students and other minority races can get together. Most of these groups are located at the Cross Cultural Center (CCC) and they welcome all Dreamers and allies. Some groups included are the Dreamers Advocate Program who raise awareness about immigration, and S.A.F.I.R.E (Students Advocating for Immigrant Rights and Equity). The CCC also holds events where they will have guest speakers addressing social issues, workshops (figure 8), and places where students can get together and show their support. CBO’s are not limited to just helping out students. These organizations are also very beneficial in helping out undocumented student’s parents by giving them insight on how to help their children. This could be started in high school when parents are welcomed to go to the school for a meeting and be able to learn more about how the educational system works, how they can get their child to college, how to pay for it, and much more. This is done in a space where parents are allowed to feel as welcomed as students. Parents are able to talk in whatever language they are comfortable in and are given information. These organization also defy the cultural deficiency framework that people hold against undocumented students as parents show that they do care when they are given the chance.
By changing our framework in a school setting, we see that DACA students feel more comfortable to be in school. “In June 1982, the Supreme Court issued Plyer v. Doe, a landmark decision holding that states cannot constitutionally deny students a free public education on account of their immigration status (American Immigration Council)”. The K-12 system is supposed to be a safe haven for DACA students, but there is no telling of how their life is going to be once they get out of high school. Some may go to college while others will be pursuing vocational studies. With DACA, students are allowed to go to college and to work legally, but when Trump was elected president, fear has been invaded these young potential students lives. Many high schoolers are afraid to apply for financial aid because that would give away their status. When the Dream Act scholarships were open for two months in the year 2016, the program received 33,034 applications, including 13,148 new ones manly from high school seniors and 19,884 for renewals, according to the California Student Aid Commission, which administers the grants”. This year turned out differently where the period to apply was acceptable for five month, but “18,714 ‘Dreamer’ grant applications in all have been filed: 8,179 new applications and 10,535 renewals (Gordon)”. This difference is very grand and as undocumented students are straying away from going to college, our education system is becoming weak and less progressive. This is where we need to remind these students that schools are going to be a safe place right now. Applying for financial aid is confidential and it shouldn’t stop them from attending college. They need to be reminded that they shouldn’t be afraid. Getting a college education is a way in fighting back the Trump presidency, because they become a value to our society by breaking down the stigma and showing him that they are important to make the United States a better place.
As many undocumented students are held in California, we find that California has allied up with protecting DACA students by providing sanctuary cities. Sanctuary cities (figure 9) are those that will be limiting their participation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and secure undocumented people’s identity. We find that “after Trump’s election, mayors vowed to protect their immigrant communities using policies of noncooperation with ICE (Leon)”. These cities are trying to support a progressive community by providing undocumented students a chance to do well in life and not letting their immigration status affect them. The bad part about these sanctuary cities is that they cannot stop ICE from raiding people’s homes. “Activists can pressure localities to adopt the full array of sanctuary policies, especially in places where migrants are a political force. (Leon)”. We can take the example of extraordinary sanctuary cities do such as New York, Chicago, and Los Angleles do. New York City was quick in reaffirming the city’s sanctuary commitments in writing, quickly passing a resolution intended to reassure restive communities. (Leon)”. Trump plans on defunding federal money given to sanctuary cities. Cities are encouraging gentrification to “offset eroding tax bases, cultivating luxury class residents. We can help by helping fund our own local cities. The money will be going to help the legal defense if someone under DACA is held by ICE. “Deportation on a mass scale is not possible without cooperation from local authorities. City and county governments and institutions such as universities and churches can block a deportation drive. Churches are especially important because they may provide the only source of sanctuary for migrant workers in non-urban areas. Here, then, is an opportunity, indeed an imperative, for all people of conscience to defend our neighbors, coworkers, student peers, and co-congregants who are threatened with deportation. (Ngai, 19)” With this, we need to be more aware of what is going on and support those who are helping in fighting back.
As citizens trying to protect those under DACA, we must provide our full support to those fighting for their rights. The Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF) supports the “Due Process for All” Bill. State Senator Ben Hueso (figure 10) advocated very hard to get this act through as it would direct the “California Department of Social Services to enable funding for legal services for immigrants -excluding those with previous convictions for violent crime- who are facing removal proceedings (McAllister)”. We must be providing our full support by being aware of the problem as a societal issue. We see that people are trying to get rid of young undocumented students and that we must act as allies. It is upon ourselves to be advocates for our society and to help out and support whenever we can. We must pay close attention and celebrate the small victories like what SVCF has done and to spread out the word. We can help out DACA students during this trouble time to remind them that people are out there fighting for them on a legal basis.
The Waiting Place
With Trump as our president, DACA is still up in the air. We are unsure of what to do and we are conflicted as comments are made about building a wall but then Trump says he’s only targeting illegal criminals as of right now. He touches upon DACA saying that it’s a difficult subject for him, but there is still no official word on the situation yet. Due to this uncertainty, Burciaga describes undocumented students as those who are in the “waiting place” just like Dr. Seuss’ “Oh all the Places You’ll Go” states. The books tell us that “The Waiting Place… is for people just waiting. Waiting for a train to go or a bus to come, or a place to go or the mail to come… everyone is just waiting.” This Waiting Place is what DACA students are feeling right now because they are conflicted on what to do. As their fate isn’t fully in their hands, they begin to doubt their ability and their hopes as they think that they can’t amount to something. This is where we need to guide them out of this waiting place and into the future where although it may not be safe, it is still the best option than being afraid. And so, we tell our friends, our significant others, our neighbors, and any other person who reasonates as a a DACA student waiting in this place, “NO! That’s not you! Somehow you’ll escape all that waiting and staying. You’ll find bright places where Boom Bands are playing.”
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