Submitted photo
Erika in Mexico City on MISOL trip at the Museo Casa Azul, Frida Kahlo Museum.
When director of the Center for DREAMers, Erika Rosales, above, helped organize trips to Mexico for DACA recipients.
Erika Rosales always knew the Center for DREAMers had funding for just two years. But when its grant expired and the center closed in October, she still found it hard to accept.
“There's a lot to celebrate because we accomplished so much in such a short time,” Rosales says. “There is grieving that we aren’t able to continue the work or provide all of the services, resources, referrals and information that we have provided until now.”
Funded through the Baldwin Wisconsin Idea Endowment — a $110,000 two-year nonrenewable grant administered through the University of Wisconsin Law School — the center provided undocumented students, DACA recipients and other community members access to culturally responsive legal representation, social services and educational career services. It also sponsored the Mexico International Study Opportunity for Learning (MISOL) program — a study abroad opportunity in Mexico for DACA recipients from UW and Dane County that allows them through Advance Parole to return lawfully to the United States.
The center’s website will continue to be available online but will not be updated.
Academic life can be complex for anyone, but especially those from immigrant communities, says Rosales, a DACA recipient herself who had to navigate college in Wisconsin largely on her own. In Wisconsin, state law prohibits undocumented students and DACA recipients from accessing in-state tuition and state financial aid, though this could change under a proposed bill authored by Rep. John Macco (R-Ledgeview) that would qualify DACA students for in-state tuition.
Rosales says having something like the center when she was a student would have been a tremendous support.
“Somebody who is undocumented and doesn't feel safe disclosing their status is not going to know where to call for support,” she says. “The center provided confidential, accurate and specific information. I have the lived experience of being undocumented and navigating educational institutions. It’s easier for undocumented students to feel comfortable and have a sense of trust when someone has walked in their shoes.”
Erin Barbato, director of the Immigrant Justice Clinic at UW Law School, drafted the initial grant proposal with Rosales. The two have been trying to secure funding through other means or find a permanent home for the program in a UW-Madison division or school, or at Madison College. They have met with the UW Campus Diversity and Climate Committee, a shared governance committee that advises the administration, faculty, staff and students on issues related to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging to continue the work of the Center for DREAMers.
Lori Lopez, one of the co-chairs of the diversity and climate committee, says the committee has been working to learn more about the issues and concerns of DACA/undocumented students on campus and the work of the center.
“Given how many inequities and challenges undocumented students face in higher education, our committee has prioritized this issue,” Lopez says. “We’re extremely concerned about the center’s funding running out because their work is absolutely vital for the wellbeing of undocumented students. But they also play an important role for our entire campus community.”
UW spokesperson Kelly Tyrrell says the university is in the process of ensuring that information on the Center for DREAMers website is preserved online at the Dean of Students page centered on DACA students. She says the UW has and will continue to offer a variety of resources and services for DACA recipients, including the UW Law School’s Immigrant Justice Clinic.
But Rosales says the center was a space for services specific to undocumented students and DACA recipients. And Barbato says the university should support students who pay tuition to attend school and will contribute to society in the future.
“I have a really hard time conceptualizing why there would be pushback on providing these basic services to students that are part of our community and enrolled in our classes and will benefit our state and our country in the future,” Barbato says. “If we aren't giving a place, giving time or giving resources to provide services for these students, we are exacerbating the stigma.”
Rosales says part of the challenge in achieving departmental and institutional support is because “nothing like this exists anywhere in Wisconsin. I understand that folks, departments and institutions don't know how to navigate the nuances of this work, however it certainly can be done.”
