Leveraging Catholic Identity to Support Undocumented Students

• In Event: Striving for the Common Good: Mission-Based Equity and Inclusion in Catholic Education

Abstract

The Catholic church has taken a definitive stance in support of undocumented persons that can aide Catholic schools pursuit of more profoundly engaging their mission and identity. Beginning in Gaudium et Spes, the Church first outlined Her responsibility to preserve the free movement of people in pursuit of their full human dignity (Paul IV, 1965). This led to the specific and explicit policy positions that United States Conference of Catholic Bishops took in support of the DREAM Act (USCCB, 2011), and its direct condemnation of President Trump's recision of the DACA program (USCCB, 2017). Through engaging these teachings, schools can further their commitment to Catholic mission and identity by offering hospitality, building relationships and community, and by offering students an opportunity to work for justice and the social values of God’s reign. (Groome, 1998). The formational space that Catholic education provides for its students offers a pivotal moment to offer support to undocumented persons while simulataneously manifesting its mission more effectively and publiclicly.
Secondary education is a unique time and space for undocumented students, holding great potential to positively impact their lives through educational experience. As students come to full legal consciousness, (Abrego, 2011) support structures in schools and school culture are deeply impactful in determining students future success (Clark-Ibáñez, 2015; Gonzales, 2016). Research at the university level suggests a generally positive and empowering experience for undocmented students involved in public activism, highlighting advocacy as a critical pedagogical tool in schools to celebrate and leverage student resilience. (Clark-Ibáñez, 2015; Negrón-Gonzalez, 2014; Jefferies, 2014). The potential impact that secondary schools can have, combined with Catholic schools’ mission centered education, offers an opportunity for Catholic schools to leverage their social and physical resources to stand with, and empower undocumented studendts publicly.
The purpose of this study is to examine the affect that using a public advocacy campaign to leverage the Catholic moral position on migration can have on the experience of undocumented students in Catholic schools. The study will test the hypothesis put forth by they author: The Dream on Campaign at St. Maximilian Preparatory has positively impacted undocumented student experience by empowering students through student activism and publicly leveraging Catholic social teaching to support those efforts. The study offers recommendations to Catholic schools to engage in public advocacy as a critical pedagogical tool for leveraging the Catholic identity of schools in order to support undocumented students, as well as reccomendations to improve the experiences of undocumented students engaged in public advocacy work.

Author

• William Rutt, Brophy College Preparatory