The Center for Race and Gender: “Undocumented Students And Campus Climate At UC Berkeley”

EBCLC is proud to partner with the Undocumented Student Program to provide free legal support to current UC Berkeley students and their families. Our Immigration advocates Theo Cuison and Rebecca Romero, participated in a critical and insightful panel discussion with the Center for Race and Gender, “Undocumented Students And Campus Climate At UC Berkeley”.  ICYMI, here’s what we learned: 

• Undocumented students are uniquely challenged by financial aid, mental health, and anti-immigrant policies. At EBCLC, we witnessed how the recent DACA decision brought a tremendous loss of hope. The change in renewal times, length of protection from deportation, financial stress that comes with paying fees, change in forms, and not being able to have in-person consultations have exponentially increased delays and political fatigue.  
• Students without work authorization have a different experience than those with DACA. Although EBCLC serves undocumented students both with and without DACA, our clients without DACA have experienced inability to use work-study to support themselves, travel nationally, or build credit. 
• The election is a particularly uncertain time for undocumented students, who can’t vote but will be highly impacted by the outcome. 

What can we do to ensure we meet undocumented students where they are?  As UC Berkeley’s Undocumented Student Program main legal service provider, EBCLC will continue to advocate for the livelihood of undocumented students and the immigrant communities we serve by: 

• • Providing free legal services 
  • Sharing information about all possible immigration options 
  • Disseminating legal resources