UndocU 2.0

FALL OF 2020 at California State University, Long Beach.

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California is home to 55,000 beneficiaries of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and to the largest number of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients in the U.S. While TPS and DACA were only temporary solutions, scholars have demonstrated that recipients made significant economic and social gains thanks to the stability and safety that these programs provided (Wong et al. 2017, Rojas-Flores et al. 2019). Beyond DACA and TPS, California is also home to large numbers of mixed-status families, where some members may be undocumented while others have various types of temporary legal status or citizenship. Indeed, 12% of Californians live with an undocumented family member. Across legal statuses and countries of origin, undocumented youth and their families are deeply integrated into the fabric of U.S. communities and contribute to the political, social, economic, and cultural life of our country. With the future of DACA and TPS uncertain, and with an increasing number of young people ineligible for either, what are the prospects for undocumented students, their families and the communities where they live?

In the second annual UndocU conference, we aim to feature the multiple and intersectional identities of undocumented individuals, which are often overlooked and undervalued. We ask: how does the rescission of DACA and TPS compel immigrant youth to think about what it means to be unDACAmented? How might unDACAmented youth draw from the knowledge and experiences of previous undocumented generations? And, how does the increasingly limited access to immigration relief amid heightened surveillance and uncertainty shift how allies, service providers, and educational institutions respond to their diverse needs? Enlisting an asset-based approach, the conference critically asks how we might transform threats to individuals via deportation, workplace raids, and immigration surveillance into collective demands for action with im/migrant families in the lead. And, how does immigration status intersect with student organizing and activism across a range of issues like housing and food security, LGBTQ+ rights, among others?

 

Due to Covid-19, the conference has been postponed until the fall of 2020. Stay tuned for updates!

 

CONFERENCE CO-CHAIRS

Adriana Andrade Rodriguez, Associated Students Inc., California State University, Long Beach

Beth Baker, Department of Anthropology, California State University, Los Angeles

Caitlin Fouratt, Department of International Studies, California State University, Long Beach

Lauren Heidbrink, Department of Human Development, California State University, Long Beach

Citlalli Ortiz, Associated Students Inc. and For Undocumented Empowered Leaders California State University, Long Beach

Sabrina Rivera, Central American Resources Center-LA’s CSU Project

Kris Zentgraf, Department of Sociology, California State University, Long Beach


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