Dear Campus Partners,
Almost a decade ago, UndocuAllies was created at UCLA during a time when there were few resources available for undocumented students. Over the years, the group has collaborated with several campus partners, allies, and advocates to develop strategies to support undocumented students.
We acknowledge and thank the foresight, vision, and hard work of early pioneers (both students and administrators) that led to the creation of UndocuAllies, including
Alfred Herrera and Angela Chan, as well as
the Academic Advancement Program (AAP), Jeff Cooper, IDEAS, and Jeanne Roe Smith of the Wesley Foundation. In addition to these key allies, countless others on our campus saw the critical need to bring together campus partners who were aware of unique issues and problems that confronted undocumented students and who wanted to make UCLA a better space for undocumented and immigrant students. We believe this effort is one of the earliest institutional support mechanisms on our campus and are proud to continue its development and efficacy.
In March 2017, Chancellor Block appointed the Chancellor’s Advisory Council on Immigration Policy (ACIP) to counsel him on campus matters as they pertain to undocumented and international students. Together, ACIP and its leadership and staff are now convening UndocuAllies quarterly and as part of our efforts, we have added this newsletter and will be enhancing the number of allies with the primary goal of being more efficacious in what we do. We welcome improvements and suggestions for this project and thank you for your participation.
This UndocuAlly Newsletter will be published quarterly. We aim to make this an important resource guide for UCLA to collectively support immigrant student success.
Abel Valenzuela
Professor and Director, Institute for Research on Labor and Employment
Special Advisor to the Chancellor on Immigration Policy
Trisha Mazumder
ACIP Graduate Student Researcher
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Campus Partner Updates
(Stay informed with this quarter's highlights)
- Undocumented Student Program
- 580 Cafe
- UC Immigrant Legal Services Center
- UCLA Student Legal Services
- Financial Aid & Scholarships
- UCLA Recreation Center
- Early Academic Outreach Program
- Counseling & Psychological Services
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Resource Highlights
(Learn more about resources on campus)
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Stay in Touch
(Get inspired by this month's updates)
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UCOP re-allocated funds in late August for an additional 3-year plan to continue to support undocumented students.
- UCLA will receive a total of $912,000 for the next 3 years.
- Year 1: 380K, Year 2: 304K, Year 3: 228K
- Met with campus partners, graduate and undergraduate students to discuss how the funds should be distributed. For Year 1 and Year 2, we have been able to secure funding for the proposed programs. Since the funding is decreased by 152K, many proposals were not funded for Year 3.
- Encourage continued conversations about permanent funding for undocumented student programs and services initiated through the UCOP funds.
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SB 77
- Effective July 1, 2019, the University of California, can extend non-State financial aid to undocumented students who do not qualify for AB540 Nonresident Supplemental Tuition (NRST) exemptions. Prior to July 1, these students were limited to private outside scholarship sources to assist with educational costs and were ineligible for federal, state, and institutional funding.
- BRC/USP identified 72K from Spark Campaign through ACIP and students-led crowdfunding campaigns. USP will be working with Financial Aid to award the funds to students.
- Encourage departments to look at their funding availability and commit to students and/or engage donors.
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SB354
- Expansion of Dream Loan Program for graduate/professional students has been signed. The bill will go into effect next academic year. Graduate students will need to submit a CA Dream Act application to access the loan. Graduate students generally do not submit the application, so we will need to encourage them to do so to access it. Deadline is March 2, 2020.
Funding for DACA
- Funding assistance is available for immigration filing fees, including DACA and other adjustment of status applications. Contact USP for more information.
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- 580 Cafe contributes to the overall well-being of students and families by providing and expanding resources that are not available from UCLA.
- This year 580 Cafe awarded 20 DACA renewal grants, provided funding for 2 citizenship application fees for alumni, provided housing and transportation grants to 8 students/families.
- In addition, 580 Cafe was recognized as a Community Champion for Children by the San Fernando Refugee Children's Center for providing development and leadership in No Estan Solos, a community-based program for unaccompanied minors. 580 students developed, facilitated and coordinated camping and retreat activities for 50 youth over the past 4 years.
- 580 Cafe is working with additional community partners to develop Welcome Centers in Huntington Park and Echo Park, where students, families, and community can access information on healthcare, legal counsel, and educational opportunities. 580 students and alum are key coordinators in this effort.
- 580 Cafe continues to provide a welcoming and brave space for current UCLA students, alumni and families to gather to share successes, challenges and build capacity and resilience. We gather in times of joy and sorrow to celebrate the common bonds of our shared families and community struggles for justice and solidarity.
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- Encouraging all DACA recipients with expiration dates in 2019 & 2020 to renew now as we await the Supreme Court decision (expected in spring of 2020).
- Filing fee assistance available for currently-enrolled UCLA students. Please take advantage of the opportunity by making an appointment with Habiba Simjee, UCLA Staff Attorney.
- In 2019, 87 grants provided, and there are 15 pending at this time; In 2018, 91 grants provided.
- CA Department of Social Services (CDSS) funding will also soon become available, and UC Immigrant Legal Services Center anticipates also being able to utilize these funds, particularly for siblings/students not eligible to receive financial aid assistance.
- Important: Immigration filing fees are expected to increase across the board by the end of 2019/at the end of 2020 (at the latest). Click here to read more on the possible changes and click here to take action as well as advocate on behalf of the community. Please take a few moments to comment on the link by Saturday, December 14th.
- Aside from DACA, continuing to file different types of family-based cases and humanitarian relief (for example: Special Immigrant Juvenile Status and U Visa cases).
- Seeing a higher volume of Adjustment of Status cases in light of shifting policies, and now upcoming fee increases.
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- Student Legal Services offers undocumented students assistance regarding virtually any type of legal issues they encounter.
- The most common problems are landlord-tenant, automobile related, criminal, University-related, and immigration. We are a confidential resource and all appointments are subject to the attorney-client privilege.
- Our new immigration attorney, Allison Aquino-Silva, can assist students with immigration issues that the Immigrant Legal Services Center doesn’t handle, like employment matters. Allison and Habiba Simjee have collaborated on some students’ cases as well as workshops.
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- CA Dream Application (CADA) for 2020/2021 is now open. Students are encouraged to submit their CADA before the March 2nd priority deadline to be considered for gift aid and institutional/university funding.
- For students who have parent(s) who do not have a status, their information will be confidential and will be kept in the financial aid office. The reason why information is collected is that the student file was select for a random process called Verification. Verification is essentially an audit on the file, which serves to ensure that the information reported on the financial aid application was done so correctly.
- The CA Dream Act Application for 2020/2021 will be using the 2018 Federal Tax Year data. Both Tax Returns (the 1040s) and Tax Return Transcripts are being accepted in case the student file is selected for Verification.
- Additional Financial Aid Application Drop-In Hours will be hosted in the Student Activities Center (SAC) and Murphy Hall in January and February leading to March 2nd Deadline. Students applying for both FAFSA and CADA can take this time to ask specific questions regarding their application. Dates, times, and location are being finalized.
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- Valerie Shepard supports the Students with Dependents Program and would like to remind people that she is continuing to assist Andrew McClure at the Bruin Resource Center with leading the Students with Dependents Task Force (for students who are parents). She would be glad to help anyone from the UndocuAlly Network learn more about it and get connected with this group's efforts. Students, faculty and staff are welcome to join.
- She also works at Recreation, and she is currently looking at changing how Recreation conducts assessments. Her team is currently assessing Recreation's program outcomes with the larger goal of contributing to student mental health equity on campus including the experience of undocumented students.
- She would like to help out/partner with creating messaging and outreach for undocumented students about programs.
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- EAOP is currently helping students complete their UC, CSU, private, FAFSA, and Dream Act Applications.
- EAOP team also has been conducting Counselor In-Services for LAUSD, other school districts, and Charter Schools. Each Counselor In-Service attracts large number of counselors.
- EAOP team is planning to collaborate with Valeria Garcia, Director of Undocumented Student Programs, and invite her to present for LAUSD counselors.
- Also, the team has been conducting parent workshops to complete FAFSA and Dream Act Applications.
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CAPS
is dedicated to serving the needs of UCLA’s undocumented students, providing two locations through which mental health needs can be addressed:
- At the main office located in John Wooden Center West, students can visit during regular business hours and request to have a brief screen, a 15-20-minute appointment with a triage specialist who can provide resources and schedule students as clinically indicated into the calendars of one of four clinicians, identified with specialization to support undocumented students.
- At the USP office in the Bruin Resource Center, room B52, a CAPS therapist is available during weeks 1-10 of each quarter for limited consultations during drop-in hours and offers a drop-in therapy support group for students already connected at CAPS. The following is our schedule during winter quarter:
- Individual drop-in consultation hours will be held on Wednesdays from 12-3PM.
- UndocuScholars Support Group will run Thursdays from 3-4 PM. (Note: Group referrals can be provided by student’s individual therapist at CAPS)
Please note that CAPS staff are trained to be sensitive to the unique concerns that undocumented students have about clinicians documenting their immigration status and those of their loved ones in medical charts. In lieu of noting documentation status, therapists will often use broad language such as “immigration-related concerns” to note any presenting problems related to immigration stressors. If you have any questions about undocumented student-specific mental health services offered at CAPS, we can be reached at usp@caps.ucla.ed.
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