Support for
Undocumented
Students

UndocuAlly Training

Ally Tips

Know the Terminology

• Undocumented - Lacks a legal status

• Mixed Status - Household with plural types of statuses

Faculty: Classroom Syllabus

Champion Additional Identities: Add a Services Paragraph in the Syllabus

Including resource centers in the syllabus like the Queer Resource Center, UndocuCenter, or Inspiring Scholars Center helps students obtain a sense of support and trust with their professors.

Immigration News

Be mindful students may not be in a great emotional state the week following heavy anti-immigration news or policies. Example: The rescission of DACA.

*Its okay to not have all the answers. Refer students to the UndocuStudent Support center located inside the Cultural Community Center, Swing Space F 102 or call 530-895-2817

Avoid asking undocumented students how they came to be undocumented

Some people’s experiences may be plain and simple, and others experience may be traumatizing to them.

For professors, showing you are invested in nurturing holistically

Share events, make announcements in class, or forward events to students that promote, uplift, or equip marginalized students with resources.

Faculty, Staff, and Students

Forward e-mails that have to do with promoting undocumented community events to other colleagues so they can get involved.

How you react to their
disclosure is critical.

It can potentially help them or discourage them enough that they will abandon seeking help from you. The more positively the person receives the information, the more comfortable he or she will make the student. The student may even share their ambivalence about telling you. Assure them of confidentiality, do not try to "fix" everything without knowing what could jeopardize a student's immigration status, do not give them false hope or "guesstimates".

What you should not say:

• How did you get here?

• Tell me about your immigration status?

• So how do you live?

• Is your family illegal too?

• There are no alternatives to my requirements.

Ways you can help when someone comes out to you:

• Is there some way I can help you?

• If I do not have the answer to this, is it okay if I ask someone that does? (Contact the UndocuCenter)

• (Professors) How do you suggest we work this out?

Do not assume that you know what it means to be undocumented.

Undocumented students may not want you to do anything, as much as they need information or referral. The student may just want you to know that they are not slackers; for example, they may want you to know that they simply do not have the financial resources or the ability to travel by car or travel abroad.

• Consider it an honor that the student has trusted you with this very personal information. Thank them for trusting you.

• Clarify with them what level of confidentiality they expect from you. They may not want you to tell anyone.

• If you do not understand something or have questions, do not expect the student to be your informant on the undocumented.

• Remember that not all undocumented students have DACA.

• If you find yourself reacting negatively, remember that your feelings may change. Try to leave the door open for future communications.

Effective Ally Strategies

• Take responsibility for your own education on issues related to the undocumented. Take the initiative to become as knowledgeable as you can on issues of concern for students who are immigrants and who may be undocumented, children of undocumented, or US born siblings of undocumented.

• Assume that the issues of prejudice and discrimination of immigrants and others are everyone's concern, not just the concern of those who are targets of prejudice and discrimination.

• Assume that young people have a right to education and they have done nothing wrong to become undocumented.

• Assume that U.S. raised undocumented immigrant youth want to stay in the U.S. and realize the "American Dream" as much as any other U.S. born and raised youth.

• Avoid engaging in giving advice or assistance that would compromise their future pathway to citizenship.

• Create opportunities for allies to reduce xenophobia and create a welcoming campus climate.

• Get to know specific students so that you can honestly write them highly effective letters of recommendation that will help them apply for scholarships to finance their education.

• Within the spirit of academic standards and legal requirements, become flexible about course and program requirements so that they do not cause barriers for undocumented students' academic success.

• Graciously accept any gratitude you may receive, but do not expect gratitude.

*Remember that one center cannot bridge an equity gap, for that we need institutional support!