Consider the following when building an UndocuAlly Training for your campus

Pre-Assessment:

Include a self-assessment at the beginning and end of your UndocuAlly training to measure the success of your session. Make sure it is relevant to your community and/or campus. 

Terminology

To set the context for your college UndocuAlly training, you must start with building Basic Terminology literacy around Undocumented Students and what it represents for students (coming out process/identity development).  Be mindful that you must create your training assuming your audience is unfamiliar with the terminology.

  • Consider promoting the Supporting Undocumented Student Learning Module in the Vision Resource Center as a tool to provide a basic shared understanding of undocumented students in our system. This learning module is not a UndocuAlly training and should be used to supplement training.
  • Key terms and Identity. Glossary
  • CA demographics (Local area demographics, Pipeline of students from k-12 through Higher education)
  • Updates to Federal & State laws. Impact on either institutional changes or individual access to education. Legislation Impacting Undocumented Students
  • Difference between DACA, CADAA and AB540 – Consider prioritizing this step as a learning objective and before your audience walks out make sure they understand the difference.
  • Intersectionality Statement

Inclusive Language

Provide examples of inclusive language throughout the presentation. Inclusive language is relevant for all levels and departments.

Challenges

Common barriers & issues related to access (to higher education) and employment

Education:

  • Education:
    • Continued misinformation about access to Higher Education
    • Often a more complicated matriculation process with additional documentation needed
    • Lack of adequate financial aid or remind others about FA opportunities
    • for Undocu Students
    • Underemployment or unemployment perpetuates lack of meeting financial demands of college
    • Confusion about where to go on the college campus for help and support
    • Major selection and educational plans/conversations often do not address the impermanence of the student’s immigration status
  • Employment and Professional Development Opportunities:
    • State or Federal Identification (CA. Driver’s License/ID, Federal ID)
    • Access to DACA
    • Lack of Internship opportunities or work experience
  • State or Federal Identification (CA. Driver’s License/ID, Federal ID)
    • State or Federal Identification (CA. Driver’s License/ID, Federal ID)
    • Access to DACA
    • Lack of Internship opportunities or work experience
  • Health and Wellbeing:
    • Examples of migration and impact on adjustment
    • Familial ties
    • Legal issues
    • Identity
    • Safety
    • Financial
    • Possibility of pre and post-migration trauma and dissociation

Student Voices

Student experiences seem to motivate people into action. However, it is extremely important to assess how you would like to incorporate the student’s voice in your tainings. Be mindful of the trauma students go through every time they share their story. Also, as a best practice student’s time should always be compensated. Consider providing gift cards, scholarships, food vouchers, etc to compensate for their time.

  • Student panels
    • Provide practice/training opportunities for student panelists.
    • Have student panelists meet prior to the ally training and create a narrative they are prepared to share.
    • Ensure that students’ privacy is maintained, including being careful students do not share anything that might self-incriminate or incriminate others (sometimes the manner by which they have arrived in the US, or have worked does not need to be detailed explicitly).
    •  The experience of speaking on a Student panel could be a traumatic experience for some students.
    • Focus questions on educational needs/successes vs. traumatic events such as border crossing story
    • Provide trigger warnings before the panel starts
    • Reassure your students throughout the panel they should only respond to what they feel comfortable responding
    • Preferably have a lead/moderator for the panel that could sort out questions for students.
    • Represent diverse student experiences with different backgrounds, and highlight non-traditional students’ experiences.
    • If you decide to take questions from the audience, the moderator should be prepared to call out inappropriate questions. Do not force students to respond.
    • Also, be open to correcting your audience when unfriendly terminology is used.
    • Create an action plan that all trainers know about in case the training gets interrupted by protest and or inadequate behavior. Supporting your students should always be a priority.
    • Create a space for students to wait until it is their turn to participate. Difficult conversations happen during trainings that could be triggering to your students.
    • Be mindful of your students’ self-care and provide post-training activities (debriefs immediately after their panel in a separate room (make sure this time is also compensated), ongoing check-in with students and referral list to mental health therapists)
  • Other promising practices instead of student panels
    • Highlight student quotes throughout the presentation
    • Short interview video recordings before the training session
    • Highlight student artwork

Resources

Highlight your campus-specific services and resources available to students. It is important that you share resources from the UndocuCenters and other departments. 

  • Success stories demonstrate support systems in place at CCCs to help students succeed.
  • Undocu Resource Programs or Centers Services like mental health, legal services, or emergency assistance programs (some pay for DACA applications or renewals)
  • Financial Aid workshops, grants, scholarships, fellowships, internships
  • Affinity groups/ Student Clubs/ Dream Clubs   
  • Successful efforts/programs/services in K-12 settings such as parent University night, bilingual service providers
  • Conference opportunities for students & staff
  • Summer bridge programs

Undocumented Educators

Think about ways to highlight success stories of UndocuEducators and undocumented professionals with and without DACA or TPS status

Allies have played an integral role in the success of Undocumented students, and have forgotten that after DACA, many of these students became educators. Being mindful of UndocuEducators serving in liaison roles, what does this mean for allies now? With the ongoing uncertainty of DACA, what does the future mean for UndocuEducators? UndocuEducators are often expected to create practices, policies, and action plans supporting undocumented students that exclude them. If DACA were to be taken away, how would institutions retain educators working closely with this population?

Post Assessment

Make sure to measure the success of your UndocuAlly Training and modify as needed.

Post Training

  • Follow up with thank you emails, and encourage your audience to sign up for the newsletter, or visit your center if they have not done so already.
  • Create an UndocuAlly Resource Google Folder with many handouts, copy of the presentation, and other relevant materials and resources so that allies can easily reference for general info and to have resources if they need to share with a student.
  • If your center permits, encourage faculty to provide extra credit for participating in workshops or visiting your center.
  • Encourage your audience to be visible by creating UndocuAlly Training logos they can display on their email signatures, canvas account and office/desk spaces.
  • Keep track of who has been trained and when they need to renew their training.
  • Include a list of allies on the UndocuCenter website. Some colleges have also chosen to highlight their allies in social media campaigns.
  • Ask allies to follow social media handles for current updates/resources

Mobilize your participants to go from an UndocuAlly to UndocuChampion  

UndocuChampion: Immigrants Rising defines UndocuChampions as deepening the work of UndocuAllies by 1) Working with, for, and beside undocumented students or professionals; 2) Keeping informed about legislation related to immigration policies;  3) Centering the experience of undocumented young people; 4) Enlisting others to support educational equity at their school or organization; and 5) Advocating for systemic changes to create institutional and sustained support that creates solutions for students we might never meet.