Undocumented Students and Their Struggle to Achieve Higher Education

Members of the Stanford community and community practitioners and advocates are invited to attend this teach-in to learn of the long struggles faced by education advocates and immigrant students to increase access for undocumented students to public colleges and universities nationwide. By providing participants with context and various presentations, we hope to open dialogue about how students and community members can get involved in the struggle to create political change. A substantial population of undocumented youth in the United States grow up with legal access to public education through high school, but face legal and economic barriers to higher education. An estimated 80,000 undocumented youth have lived in the U.S. for five or more years by the age of 18, but only 65,000 graduate from high school each year. Research suggests that undocumented students experience shame, anxiety, and fear due to the social stigma and real dangers associated with their status. They also experience invisibility and increased financial constraints in accessing college because they are ineligible to apply for financial aid or student loans. At this event, you will: *Learn more about the issues that AB 540 undocumented students face in pursuit of college education from a research, legal, and educational practitioner perspective. *Network with other community members working on AB 540 undocumented student issues. *Find out ways you can advocate for AB 540 undocumented students and their goals to pursue college education. Speakers include: *Dr. William Perez, author of We Are Americans: Untold Stories of Undocumented Students in Pursuit of the American Dream and professor at Claremont Graduate University *Kathy Gin, co-founder of Educators for Fair Consideration *Bill Hing, J.D., professor at University of San Francisco School of Law and founder of the Immigrant Legal Resource Center Dinner will be provided. RSVP to email. Sponsored by: Stanford University School of Education, Stanford University School of Education Dean's Office, Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity, Chicano/a Studies, Vice Provost of Graduate Education, and Asian American Graduate Student Association. (More information)