Legislating Safe "Sanctuary" Spaces: The Politics of Prioritizing Immigrant Communities in Higher Education Policy

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session 17
  In Roundtable Session: Higher Education Policy: Influences on Students and Faculty

Abstract

This paper draws upon discourse analysis of policy texts and legislative hearings, semi-structured interviews, and participant observation to examine California’s Assembly Bill 21, the Access to Higher Education for Every Student. As part of my critical policy analysis, I discuss how the interests of racialized, immigrant communities are debated in state-level policy including the legal nuances associated with legislating safe “sanctuary” spaces in institutions of higher education. Moreover, I highlight how undocumented communities are situated in the intersections of racial politics and political economy and the various factors that inform macro-policy remedies in the context of the current political climate.

Author

• Patricia D. Lopez, California State University - Fresno