"You Can't Learn if You Don't Feel Safe": Educators Working With Undocumented High School Students

• In Event: Latinx Youth, Teachers in Schools, and Families

Abstract

Since his campaign, Donald J. Trump mobilized anti-immigrant sentiment, advocated for heightened immigration enforcement, and diminished protections for immigrant young adults and their families. For example, on September 5, 2017, the administration announced the rescission of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) federal program. DACA provides eligible undocumented youth a two-year work permit and temporary protection from deportation.
In this presentation, we explore how the anti-immigrant rhetoric and policy decisions at the federal level have permeated classroom walls and subsequently affected the experiences of immigrant children and their families, as well as the educators and counselors who work with them.

Authors

• Carolina Valdivia, University of California - Irvine

• Marisol K. Clark-Ibanez, California State University - San Marcos

• Josefina Espino, California State University - San Marcos

• Carolina Lopez, California State University - San Marcos