Border(ing) Equity: Academic Mobility Across Borders and Legal Statuses

• In Event: The American Dream: Cultivating Equitable Workforce Pathways for International Scholars in U.S. Higher Education

Abstract

In this session, bicultural/binational navigational experiences of students within the borderlands of Mexico and the United States will be discussed. There is a large corpus of research emerging that explores how students on both sides of the border live, work, and study (Beech, 2014; Orraca & Vargas, 2017). More equity driven research is needed to address emerging issues, but also to provide a platform that enables change for international students. This session will explore the current context of the COVID-19 pandemic and provide autobiographical experiences of navigating the complexity of living between worlds and how it shapes one’s educational trajectory and research agenda. The intersectionalities of race, gender, social class, and legal status create unique experiences for individuals (Cebulko, 2018) and need to be considered when striving for a more equity-oriented society. While legal status has been identified as a major marker for professional opportunities and labor market integration in the United States (Kreisberg, 2019), the status of lawful resident and green card holder does not guarantee equal access.
The session will conclude with recommendations for the internationalization of two-year campuses and the role they play in providing access to higher education for those within the border regions. Establishing a sense of belonging will be discussed as an important step in promoting access and equity in the U.S. academic and professional field (García & Garza, 2016; García et al., 2019).

Author

• Hugo Alberto Garcia, Texas Tech University