Each year, approximately 65,000 undocumented students graduate from high schools in the United States. Nevertheless, a complex web of federal, state, and postsecondary institution policies too often keep undocumented students from achieving a postsecondary education, which is a vital path to economic mobility—a loss not only for undocumented students but for the communities they come from and for the nation as a whole.
A distinguished panel will discuss the findings of a new report from the Institute for Immigration, Globalization, and Education, “In the Shadows of the Ivory Tower: Undocumented Undergraduates and the Liminal State of Immigration Reform,” focused on the experiences of undocumented students who are navigating the stressful landscape of current immigration laws, uneven state and university policies, and few campus resources. The panel will present lessons learned from the experiences of students and a potential path forward amidst an uncertain political climate.
Opening Remarks:
Felicia Escobar, Special Assistant to the President for Immigration Policy
Moderator:
Zenén Jaimes Pérez, Senior Policy Analyst, Generation Progress
Panel:
Dr. Daniel Porterfield, President, Franklin & Marshall College
Laura Bohórquez, Coordinator, Dream Education Empowerment Program at United We Dream
Dr. Robert Teranishi, Co-Director, Institute for Immigration, Globalization, and Education at the University of California, Los Angeles
Catalina Adorno, Student and Organizer at New Jersey Youth for Immigrant Liberation