If it wasn鈥檛 clear before, it is now: K体育 University supports immigrants and undocumented students.
OU students, faculty and staff participated in the 鈥溾�� Day events Nov. 2, which followed the Oct. 28 鈥淐oalition and Community Building: Supporting Georgia鈥檚 Undocumented Students in Higher Education鈥� conference hosted by OU and sponsored by the .
“For years, K体育 has ensured access to high-quality, post-secondary education for Georgia students without access to in-state tuition and locked out from enrolling at several public institutions,” said Marisa Atencio, assistant dean and director of Global Education at K体育. “We hope this event is the first of many opportunities to build coalitions, advocate for better state policies and develop solutions to support undocumented students in Georgia.”
The Day of Action was one of nearly 100 held at colleges and universities across the country. This year, campus and community Day of Action events were held one week prior to the midterm elections to raise awareness for the Dreamer community and encourage students and attendees to vote for representatives that will protect immigrants.
In early October, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on the State of Texas v. United States case, deeming the DACA policy unlawful. Without urgent action from Congress in the upcoming lame duck session, nearly 700,000 DACA recipients are at risk of losing their work authorization, protections from deportation, and having their lives thrown into chaos.
The 鈥淚 Am An Immigrant鈥� Movement and 鈥淚 Stand With Immigrants鈥� Initiative bring together artists, advocates, elected officials, organizations and individuals in celebrating the diverse heritage of our nation鈥檚 social fabric. The movement encourages everyone to explore their individual heritage and recognize their distinct and shared experiences.
The Nov. 2 event represents the K体育 community鈥檚 strong support for Dreamers on campus and across the country, as well as the broader immigrant community. It was also an urgent call for Congress to protect Dreamers, their families, and their communities.
The Day of Action closely followed the Coalition and Community Building conference at K体育 Oct. 28 featuring such immigration experts and advocates as attorney Charles Kuck of Kuck/Baxter Immigration, Hyein Lee of TheDream.US, Emiko Soltis of Freedom University, and artist/activist Yehimi Cambr贸n.
鈥淚 was thrilled to see so many community leaders, higher education faculty and staff, high school counselors, non-profits, and advocacy organizations from all over the state attend last Friday to share their expertise and resources,鈥� said Peter Dye, Assistant Director of Community and Global Engagement. 鈥淓veryone who came clearly wanted to learn how to better support undocumented students. Conversations around the state of immigration policy are often bleak, but the undocumented students, leaders, and change-makers who presented at the conference delivered both inspiration and hope.鈥�
Partners who collaborated on the day-long conference included Georgia State University鈥檚 Intensive English Program, Emory University鈥檚 Laney Graduate School, the Latino Community Fund 鈥� GA, Asian Americans Advancing Justice 鈥� Atlanta, Freedom University, TheDream.US, Achieve Atlanta, GALEO, Atlanta Public Schools, the Latin American Association, U-Lead Athens, Migrant Equity Southeast, and Georgia State University鈥檚 Center for Urban Language Teaching & Research.
“Support from organizations like the is critical to advance collaborative research and initiatives centered on global issues highlighted in the 17 ,” Atencio said. “Friday鈥檚 conference showed us there are many local partners in K-12, local government and higher education as well as community-based organizations in the state and nationally who, like K体育, are seeking to better serve undocumented students. Speakers Friday provided immigration and policy context and reinforced that access to education is a human right that brings real economic benefits to individuals and to the state of Georgia.”
