A Supportive Community for DACA and Beyond

Supporting undocumented students requires engagement and accessibility to resources.

Since the news of the Trump Administration repealing DACA (Deffered Action for Childhood Arrivals) on Sept. 5, Chaffey College has provided a number of resources for student and faculty struggling during this uncertain time.

One workshop was held on Wednesday, Sept. 20 in Wargin Hall 142. The "Supporting Undocumented Students +" workshop was hosted by Professor of Business Abel Chen, and special guest Diane Uchimiya, J.D., Director of the Justice and Immigration Clinic and Professor of Law at University of La Verne.

Uchimiya, who has experience in preparing legal paperwork for students, says the DACA announcement is a call to action. With 150,000 to 200,000 DACA forms expiring on March 5, 2018, the approval period for applying for DACA has been extended by one month. This means that all applications have to be received by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services by Oct. 5, 2017.

If you are not a DACA recipient, but would like to help someone who is undocumented gain a foothold, Professor Uchimiya recommended some aid for entrepreneurs and students. Sharing access to resources that can be expensive for the individual such as a gathering place or office space would help with the heavy load of rent payments. One of Professor Uchimiya's strongest pieces of advice for undocumented immigrants is to create their own business. Micro-lending would provide the small business capital for immigrants to get their personal businesses off of the ground.

Professor Uchimiya impressed upon those in attendance that an important step for undocumented immigrants is to plan for deportation. This planning is not giving in to the defeat of their attempt at naturalization, but an important safeguard for their rights and those of their children, especially in families of mixed immigration status.

Below we have collected a list of resources to assist those looking for help in their DACA and undocumented struggles.

Chaffey College is providing a final DACA renewal assistance workshop on Saturday, Sept. 30 at the Rancho Cucamonga Campus. The event will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the Administration building, room AD-151.

The Los Angeles Archdoicese is hosting a DACA renewal workshop on Saturday, Sept. 30, by appointment only. The times range from 10:0 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at St. Mary's Church, 407 S Chicago St, Los Angeles, CA 90033. Call (213) 637-7820 for registration or visit [http://thenextamerica.org] for more information.

A large collection of legal advice and resources are available at the Immigrant Legal Resource Center's website, www.ilrc.org.

Professor's Uchimiya and Chen ended the workshop by expressing the importance of political advocacy. While immigrants, undocumented and documented alike, have a tougher struggle than most, it is important that we all find a solution to our national immigration problem. This requires active participation from all concerned citizens in the process of reforming immigration. Professor Uchimiya said, "The way to immigration reform is not to be on the side where you're reacting all the time."