Glossary
Asylum: According to USCIS every year people come to the United States seeking protection because they have suffered persecution or fear that they will suffer persecution due to: Race, Religion, Nationality, Membership in a particular social group, political opinion
California DREAM Act Application (CADAA): Students who are undocumented, have a U Visa, or TPS status use this application to apply for state-based financial aid in California. It is administered by the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC).
CA Promise Grant: The California College Promise Grant (formerly known as the BOG Fee Waiver) permits enrollment fees to be waived for eligible California residents.
DACA: In 2012, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) became an immigration option for undocumented immigrants who came to the United States before the age of 16. Although DACA does not provide a pathway to lawful permanent residence, it does provide a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation, work authorization, and the ability to apply for a social security number.
Dreamer: The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act (S.1291) legislation was introduced in 2001 as a bipartisan bill in the Senate. The legislative goal was to provide a means for undocumented immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children to gain a pathway to permanent legal status, provided those individuals achieved certain milestones.
California Dream Act Service Incentive Grant Program (DSIG): Encourages California Dream Act Application (CADAA) students with a Cal Grant B award to perform community or volunteer service. The California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) will award up to $3,000 per academic year (up to $1,500 per semester or up to $1,000 per quarter) to 2,500 eligible students. The grant will be available to the student for up to 8 semesters or up to 12 quarters while they have an active Cal Grant B award. Students must also meet Satisfactory Academic Progress and complete any necessary verification for their Cal Grant B award.
Extended Opportunity Programs and Services (EOPS): is here to make sure students disadvantaged by social, economic, educational or linguistic barriers get the resources they need to enroll and succeed at any California community college.
FAFSA: Students use the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form to apply for federal and state financial aid for college or graduate school. Undocumented students are not eligible for federal financial aid.
FERPA: The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education. FERPA gives parents certain rights with respect to their children’s education records. These rights transfer to the student when he or she reaches the age of 18 or attends a school beyond the high school level. Students to whom the rights have transferred are “eligible students.”
Guided Pathways: The Guided Pathways framework creates a highly structured approach to student success that provides all students with a set of clear course-taking patterns that promotes better enrollment decisions and prepares students for future success. The Guided Pathways framework also integrates support services in ways that make it easier for students to get the help they need during every step of their community college experience.
Leticia A. Network: The Leticia A. Network formed in the late 1980s after a court order allowed undocumented students to meet residency requirements for tuition purposes.
Mixed Status Families: Mixed-status families include members with different immigration statuses. For example, a common family combination in the United States includes undocumented parents and citizen children.
Monarch butterfly: The monarch butterfly has become an immigration rights movement symbol to humanize the undocumented individuals living in the United States.
Public Charge: Public charge means an individual who is likely to become primarily dependent on the government for subsistence, as demonstrated by either receipt of public cash assistance for income maintenance or institutionalization for long-term care at government expense.
Refugee: Under United States law, a refugee is someone who: Is located outside of the United States; Is of special humanitarian concern to the United States; Demonstrates that they were persecuted or fear persecution due to race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group; Is not firmly resettled in another country; Is admissible to the United States
Student Centered Formula Funding: The objective of the Student Centered Funding Formula is to address long-standing issues through a system that focuses on rewarding equity and success. The new funding formula will help students by prioritizing their success and specifically by targeting access and success for disadvantaged students.
Supplemental Allocation: The Supplemental Allocation is calculated by distributing 20% of total systemwide revenue to districts based on their unduplicated headcounts of Pell, AB 540, and College Promise Grant students.
Temporary protected status (TPS): The Secretary of Homeland Security may designate a foreign country for TPS due to conditions in the country that temporarily prevent the country’s nationals from returning safely, or in certain circumstances, where the country is unable to handle the return of its nationals adequately.
UndocuAlly: UndocuAlly is a term adopted to refer to allies for undocumented students.
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.
Undocu-friendly: This term refers to institutions that have policies or systems in place that aim to support undocumented students.
UndocuHustle: The #UndocuHustle refers to the entrepreneurial spirit at the heart of the immigrant experience.
Undocumented: An individual who entered without authorization, entered with a visa and overstayed their visa, or is currently in the process of legalizing.
Undocumented Black: Refer to immigrants who identify as Undocumented Black Immigrants
UndocuQueer: The UndocuQueer movement is a powerful network of queer undocumented immigrant activists organizing for the rights of undocumented youth and their families.
UndocuAPI: Undocumented Asians and Pacific Islanders (undocuAPI) refer to immigrants from Asia and the Pacific Islands
Victims of Criminal Activity: U Nonimmigrant Visa (U-Visa): The U nonimmigrant status (U visa) is set aside for victims of certain crimes who have suffered mental or physical abuse and are helpful to law enforcement or government officials in the investigation or prosecution of criminal activity.
Victims of Human Trafficking: T Nonimmigrant Status (T-Visa): Temporary immigration benefit that enables certain victims of a severe form of trafficking in persons) to remain in the United States for an initial period of up to 4 years if they have complied with any reasonable request for assistance from law enforcement in the detection, investigation, or prosecution of human trafficking or qualify for an exemption or exception.
Violence Against Women Act (VAWA): Under the federal VAWA, someone may be eligible to become a lawful permanent resident (get a Green Card) if they are the victim of battery or extreme cruelty committed by: A U.S. citizen spouse or former spouse; A U.S. citizen parent; A U.S. citizen son or daughter; A lawful permanent resident (LPR) spouse or former spouse; or An LPR parent.