District provides resources for undocumented students

The Undocumented Student Center is located in the UC Davis Student Community Center, offering legal help to all students to achieve their educational goals.

By Kate Macaulay,
BlueDevilHUB.com Editor–

In an effort to aid Davis’ undocumented community, many local organizations have created resources to make it easier for undocumented students to succeed.

One such resource is Davis Joint Unified School District’s “We All Belong” district webpage, providing useful information for undocumented students in response to President Donald Trump’s new immigration enforcement regulations. The “We All Belong” campaign was created alongside the School Board’s Feb. 2 resolution, affirming DJUSD as a place where all “students, employees and families feel welcome and safe regardless of their immigration status, race, color, ancestry, national origin, ethnic group identification, age, religion, marital or parental status, physical or mental disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or gender expression.”

DJUSD Public Information Officer Maria Clayton encourages DACA students to visit the webpage for information, and to visit the Frequently Asked Questions section on the webpage to get information on DJUSD policies and practices in regards to immigration status.

On the UC Davis campus, the AB540 & Undocumented Student Center directed by Andrea Gaytan provides undocumented UCD students legal and financial advice

Gaytan is concerned that the rescission of DACA will have negative consequences for UCD students, and is “trying to reassure students that the Center will continue to be here to support their educational goals.”

Like DJUSD, the Center’s website also provides updated DACA news, and additional information about upcoming DACA Renewal Workshops in California.

Gaytan encourages undocumented students to use the resources they have available to them “to learn as much as they can about the laws and policies that [California] has in place to make sure education remains accessible to them.”

“There are laws such as AB540 to provide in-state tuition for immigrants seeking a higher education, and the California Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act which gives basic financial aid,” Gaytan said. 

Junior Alexa Guerra is closely connected to those in the DACA program, and supports the program.

“[My family] feels much empathy for those Dreamers because their struggles are our struggles, their aspirations are part of who we are and our motivation to thrive here in the United States,” Guerra said. “The district has not provided enough support for these Dreamers, nor brought attention to this cruel action at the hands of our President.”

Guerra recommends that the school make it more clear to students that there are counselors available to help and support those affected by the DACA decision.

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