CSUF stands with DACA dreamers

CSUF Stands With Our Dreamers

President Framroze Virjee
Tue 2/25/2020 12:11 PM
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DL-students@csu.fullerton.edu;...
The Journey North



Jessica cannot remember being carried for days on end, her mother’s free hand clutching her older sibling as they traveled north.



She was oblivious to both the hope she was heading toward and the danger she was fleeing from.



She could not have known that her mother was crossing a guarded border in the dead of the night so that she could one day cross a commencement stage in the light of the Fullerton sun.



No, on that night, she was a cold, hungry infant who had nothing to do with how she came to America but would soon have everything to do with what it means to be American.



***



Emergency Surgery



Jóse barely remembers the tumors crawling up his arms that convinced his parents of the need to bring him to the United States for emergency surgery.



He was too young to understand why the doctors wanted him to stay another 10 years after the surgery, a crucial time period for the bone development of his tiny, healing arms.



He could not have known that his parents’ decision to stay in America until he healed would lead to his decision to stay in school until he became the first in his family to earn a college degree.



No, on that day, he was a sick, eight-year-old boy who had nothing to do with how he came to this country but would soon personify the tenets of tenacity and benevolence that it was founded upon.



***



Dear Titan Family:



As we approach the U.S. Supreme Court decision that could uphold the presidential rescission of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), it is important to note that Jessica and Jóse’s stories are not anomalies in Orange County.



These are the backstories of our classmates and coworkers, the origins of many of our communities, and the genesis of some of our greatest achievements — not just for all Dreamers and Titans, but for our entire state and nation.



“Immigrants Are American History”



Indeed, Jóse and Jessica — both now proud CSUF graduates with three (and soon to be four) academic degrees between them — personify a truth immortalized by historian Oscar Handlin: “Once I thought to write a history of immigrants in America,” he once said. “Then I discovered that immigrants are American history.”



CSUF is proud of that history and the role we play enhancing it through inclusive support for immigrant students — both documented and undocumented. We do so because it is the right thing to do, yes, but to quote Bobby Kennedy, we also do so because we recognize that “our investment in new Americans will be repaid a thousand times over.”



A Thousand Times Over



In Jessica’s case, after working service jobs throughout high school and college to support her family in the wake of her father’s deportation, she became a first-generation college graduate in 2012. The CSUF commencement afterglow quickly faded, however, when employers told her she was ineligible for hire due to lack of documentation.



So, when DACA was announced, her curiosity peaked. “Is it real?” she wondered, daunted by documents asking for the personal information she had always kept hidden because she knew it could cost her everything. Eventually, she stepped into the breach and took the government’s word that her information would not be used to deport her.



With her new DACA status and Titan degree, Jessica began a career with Orange Children & Parents Together, supporting our community’s most vulnerable children. On the strength of her income and with undaunted courage she then earned her second Titan degree — a Masters in Social Work — and is now a therapist working with Orange County families with mental health needs.



For Jóse, his inability to speak English led to elementary school struggles, and he eventually dropped out of high school to become a day laborer. Frustrated by an employer who refused to pay him earned wages because he was “replaceable,” Jóse went back to school, earned his GED and DACA status, and eventually enrolled at CSUF.



Jóse soared as a Titan, academically and in multiple jobs and leadership positions, including in the Titan Dreamers Resource Center (TDRC), EOP Summer Bridge, ASI Lobby Corps, and on the Board of Directors for our College of HSS. He graduated in 2019 and is now earning his master’s while working for the Public Counsel’s Statewide Education Rights Project.



Clearly, Jóse, Jessica, and countless others like them personify Bobby Kennedy’s belief that new Americans return our investment a thousand times over. And at CSUF, that investment is stronger than ever.



The Investment – Standing with Our Dreamers



We recently joined the CSU in submitting an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court explaining that DACA’s recension would not only rip apart our communities, but also betray the Dreamers themselves — hard-working Titans who risked everything by revealing their status based on their trust in our government’s promise.



As important as that legal brief was, we are engaged in many other endeavors in this arena, including the UndocuAlly Training our Senior Leadership Team and I recently took; our newly created UndocuAlly Faculty and Staff Association; the launch of Titans Together, a campus-wide multi-year anti-racism/anti-bias initiative; and our free legal services, one-on-one tailored support, and bi-weekly TDRC newsletter, all of which and more is provided by our TDRC – the CSU’s first cultural center dedicated to supporting undocumented students.



Reach Higher for our Dreamers



Titan Family, I invite you to engage with and support these programs in our collective effort to ensure the Supreme Court not only sees us standing with our Dreamers, but also hears us advocating on their behalf. Write elected officials, organize a rally, tweet, vote, or create new endeavors that bring awareness to the endless ways undocumented Titans enrich our lives and lift our communities.



Do all that and more, but also know this: Regardless of how, when, or what the Supreme Court decides on DACA, Cal State Fullerton will continue to do everything legally possible to both protect our undocumented students and empower the promise of their potential.



To All Titan Dreamers



And finally, to all Titan Dreamers — past, present, and future — please know that we are with you, and if you are in need of services beyond what the TDRC can provide or during their off-hours, Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) is available 24-hours a day through their emergency hotline at 657-278-3040.



Of course, my door is always open to you as well, and while I personally cannot know or understand the day-to-day fear of being deported from the only home you have ever known, I can use the power of my position, privilege, and legal training to support, advocate, and fight for you.



As president and an UndocuAlly, that is exactly what I am doing and will continue to do – and rest assured, the Titan Family is with me as we stand in solidarity with you. After all, you are our brothers and sisters, our colleagues and co-workers, our classmates and research partners, our teachers and nurses, our engineers and architects, our lawyers and artists, our friends and neighbors.



In other words, you are Americans, and we are so proud and thankful that this is your home — now and always.



Sincerely,





Fram Virjee

President