Students and faculty rallied in support of the undocumented immigrant community on Monday, November 18th. Hosted by WCSU’s Western Beyond Borders Club, several classes and local activists convened for a “walkout” to “create a space to stand in solidarity,” in light of the recent Supreme Court hearings over the fate of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

“We’re still fairly new,” Western Beyond Borders’ president Doris Cordova, told The Echo. Cordova, a senior sociology major also a member of the local organization Connecticut Students for a Dream (C4D). She said that a special link between Western students and the activism of the undocumented community was necessary. Nearly 5,000 undocumented immigrants live in Danbury.

“I grew up with a lot of privilege I didn’t know I had,” Cordova, a first-generation immigrant, admitted.

Over the past two years, however, she said “I felt the kind of need to step out of this fear and see what resources are out there,” and make a support system visible to immigrant students who might have otherwise been unsure of how to seek help. Cordova also said Thursday’s rally took on a new meeting graffiti, flyers, and stickers linked to the alt-right were found around Midtown Campus.

Dr. Carina Bandhauer, professor of sociology at Western, spoke at the rally, telling the audience she was frustrated with “How politicians play around with the future of undocumented children.”

“It’s plainly cruel,” she said.

 

Bandhauer, who specializes in Immigration Studies is a primary organizer of WCSU’s Undocu-Ally Taskforce, a faculty and student group which aims to “create access to more resources for undocumented students at Western” and is partnered C4D. Thanks to a state law that passed in 2017, undocumented students in Connecticut can apply for grants and scholarships regardless despite their immigration status. Last month, the taskforce and C4D partnered to organize an application workshop to help undocumented students apply for the first time.

But Bandhauer also referenced the historical legacy of American sanctions and imperialism that have been linked to an influx of asylum seekers.

“Guess what happens? It destabilizes populations,” she said.

She encouraged students attending the rally to get involved with movements like C4D.

“It’s ok to be proud of who you are,” Bandhauer said.

DACA is built off the 2001 DREAM Act and was introduced in 2012 during the Obama administration. As long as recipients renew their status every 2 years, the program protects them from deportation and provides eligibility to apply for work permits, driver’s licenses, and other forms of aid. The overwhelming majority of DACA recipients are employed, and over half of them are college students.

Arguing that its enactment was an overreach of executive power, the Trump administration formally announced a DACA repeal in 2017; the president had frequently threatened to do so on the campaign trail. The measure was met with lawsuits from around the country, and rulings from multiple federal courts were able to buy recipients time. Last year, DACA’s fate played a role in the congressional-presidential impasse that resulted in a lengthy government shutdown. Eventually, the case made its way to the Supreme Court, after it consolidated several DACA-related cases into one hearing. While a formal ruling won’t be reached until the summer, the court is poised to side with the White House, although a congressional approach to salvaging DACA still might be possible. Connecticut is home to nearly 4,000 DACA recipients, with around 7,000 potential recipients awaiting the fate of the program. Jesenia Minier-Delgado, chief diversity officer for the Office of Diversity and Equity at Western said on Thursday that when the DACA repeal was announced, “The effects were totally not considered. It would send so many schools into a complete tailspin,” Minier-Delgado explained on Thursday.

“As allies and as supporters, we must continue to fight,” Minier-Delgado said. She assured students the university had its undocumented students’ best interests in mind; WCSU is one of the 165 colleges and universities who signed the amicus curiae brief delivered to the Supreme Court alongside the current case.

Erick Tamay, a 15-year-old Danbury High School student, talked about the anxiety and discrimination he said undocumented immigrants face regularly, and tried to raise awareness about the toll the threat of deportation can take.

“There are parents that don’t even get to say goodbye to their children.” said Tamay, a member of a DHS activist group, the Voices of Freedom Club.

The Reverend Matthew Babcock, curate of Trinity Episcopal Church in Newtown, echoed “The real human cost of deportation.”

“It’s an unquestionable horror,” he said. “We will do whatever it takes to make sure you and your families are safe.”

“Nine digits shouldn’t define a person,” Western freshman Andres Idrovo, who spoke at the rally, said on Thursday. Idrovo’s sister, Angelica, a longtime member of C4D, and prominent immigrant activist in Danbury, called for students and educators alike to hold the university and elected officials accountable, not just amid the precarious future of DACA, but for undocumented people who aren’t eligible.

“Every one of these people are strong and resilient,” she said. “It is very powerful to step out of the shadows.”

For more information on WCSU’s policies toward undocumented students, visit here. For more information about the Western Beyond Borders club, contact Professor Lorraine Moya Salas, by email at salasl@wcsu.edu.