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The New UW Center for DREAMers Offers Vital Support for Immigrant Students 

03/01/2022 02:54:45 PM

Mar1

by Lynn Silverman

While navigating college admissions can be challenging for any student, imagine how much more difficult and stressful this is for students who are undocumented or DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) recipients. These are students who also have to wonder how to answer questions about citizenship, who are faced with paying out-of-state tuition at Wisconsin state schools, who do not know if they are even eligible for any scholarships or loans, who feel unsupported and wonder if they even belong, and who end up questioning their own abilities and self-worth.

Erika Rosales, herself an undocumented immigrant and DACA recipient, is a first-generation college student who had to struggle with these issues on her own and wanted to support others who are facing these same obstacles. She joined forces with Erin Barbato, director of the Immigrant Justice Clinic at the UW Law School, to launch the Center for Dreamers. Erika is now the director of the center, which will provide services for the nearly 6,000 DACA recipients in Wisconsin. You can read about its services here.

Temple Beth El’s Immigrant and Refugee Rights Action Team, together with Dane Sanctuary Coalition, was honored to host a presentation by Ms. Rosales and Ms. Barbato to discuss the importance of these supports and provide details about the services the center will provide. The goal of the center is to empower DACA and undocumented students to achieve their highest educational goals through access to culturally responsive legal representation (free and confidential), social services (including mental health), and educational and career services (including financial counseling).

Following this presentation, the speakers also gave us an update on recent immigration policy changes and continuing challenges. We then brainstormed ideas for future educational and action steps, including several volunteer opportunities. For anyone who missed this presentation, you can watch it here. 

Dane Sanctuary Coalition meeting: If you’d like to be more involved with immigration issues, please join us for the next meeting of the Dane Sanctuary Coalition (DSC). DSC is holding a coalition-wide meeting on Sunday, March 13, 6:30 to 8:00 pm via Zoom. We will hear from a panel of our immigration partners with updates about their work for immigrant justice, opportunities for volunteering, and ideas for action. Congregations will have the opportunity to share their immigrant justice work as well as hear from the DSC Steering Committee about upcoming projects. Click here to RSVP. 
 

 

April 25, 2024 17 Nisan 5784