What a Supreme Court Decision on Executive Action Could Mean for One Undocumented Immigrant

Today, in U.S. classrooms, you will find first, second, or third generation immigrant students. Most of these students are U.S. citizens.  However, among them, there exists an estimated 1.7 million undocumented young people under age 30 who are enrolled in high school, have graduated, obtained a GED, or are currently enrolled in elementary or middle school, according to the Pew Hispanic Center. Each year, about 65,000 undocumented students graduate from American high schools. As undocumented, they are without basic access to the numerous opportunities available to their documented or U.S. citizen counterparts and face significant barriers to higher education. Undocumented students cannot receive federal education benefits, and in some states, may be ineligible for in-state tuition. These barriers add to the social and economic challenges undocumented students already face as a result of their status.

Jong-Min’s Story

Like so many of these students who have aspirations of higher education, I too, came from abroad—Seoul, South Korea—and arrived in the U.S. in 1981 under a student visa. I was only a one-year old baby back then, and when my visa expired in 1985, I became undocumented at the age of 5. I’ve now lived in the U.S. for the last 35 years. I attended public schools, graduating from Stuyvesant High School in New York City in 1998, and later graduating magna cum laude in 2003 from University of Tennessee, Knoxville with a BA in Sociology with a concentration in Criminal Justice and a Minor in Psychology.

Thirteen years later, I am still stuck in my invisible prison behind invisible bars and with invisible chains. This is a prison where my lack of Social Security number prevents me from working, driving, voting, and accessing certain basic human rights, like health care. I am too old for the temporary reprieve from deportation under the 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative, as I missed the cut off by a year. If I were a DACA recipient, I would be eligible for a work permit and temporary protection from removal. However, that obstacle has never deterred me, and even though it been many years since college, I still aspire to go to law school, and ultimately become a federal judge.

As the Supreme Court decides the fate of President Obama’s executive actions in United States v. Texas, which includes two deferred action initiatives – an expanded DACA and a proposed Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) initiative –  I, along with an estimated 290,000 persons eligible for expanded DACA and over 3.7 million persons eligible for DAPA, eagerly await their decision. In the absence of congressional reform, this is our hope along with our dream to contribute more fully to the country we have long called home.

Additional Resources 

•  U.S. Children of Undocumented Immigrants Set Up for Failure by Current Policies (American Immigration Council) – This blog demonstrates the profound impact of current immigration policies on pre-K-12 U.S. students.

• What the U.S. Supreme Court Case on Executive Action Means for Schools (American Immigration Council) – This blog details some of the implications of United States v. Texas on schools.

What the U.S. Supreme Court Case on Executive Action Means for Schools

On April 18, the eight sitting justices on the U.S. Supreme Court will consider United States v. Texas, a politically charged lawsuit about the legality of some of President Barack Obama’s executive actions on immigration.

The initiatives in dispute—expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA)—have been on hold since a district court in Texas issued a preliminary injunction (a temporary block) in the case in February 2015. A Supreme Court decision in favor of the United States could clear the way for the initiatives to go forward as early as June 2016. A decision against the United States, or a 4-4 split decision would affirm the lower court’s ruling and uphold the block on expanded DACA and DAPA.

Both DACA and DAPA are deferred action initiatives. To qualify to stay in this country, individuals must have lived here five years, register with the government, pay taxes, and pass a criminal background check. A grant of deferred action does not confer any type of lawful immigration status, enforceable legal rights, or an ability to remain permanently in the United States. Nonetheless, it allows families to remain together and to apply for work authorization.

Expanded DACA and DAPA have the potential to affect a substantial number of American families.  The Migration Policy Institute (MPI) estimates that 3.7 million undocumented immigrants could qualify for protection from removal under the two initiatives.  Additionally, 86 percent of children of undocumented parents, or 4.4 million, have parents that would qualify for DAPA. Many of these children are U.S. citizens.

There are also, however, educational and socio-emotional health benefits. For example, as of December 31, 2015, over 700,000 young people have received the 2012 version of DACA (not challenged in the lawsuit), broadening their educational opportunities. Many recipients now have access to public universities, trade schools, and additional scholarship opportunities.

Many educational groups and advocates, including the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association, have stated in a friend-of-the-court brief filed on the Obama administration’s side, that "DACA is unique among immigration policies because it makes educational attainment a condition for eligibility." They highlight that in order to be eligible for DACA, an individual must be “either in school, have graduated or obtained a certificate of completion from high school, have obtained a general education development (GED) certificate, or are honorably discharged veterans of the U.S. Coast Guard or the U.S. Armed Forces.”

Additionally, they note that the DAPA program would extend significant stress relief to families with school-aged children. Not surprisingly, removing the threat of a parent’s deportation and the ability to improve economic prospects via work authorization may mitigate some of the statistically profound disadvantages facing children with at least one undocumented parent.

Executive Action Resources

• Defending DAPA and Expanded DACA Before the Supreme Court (American Immigration Council) – This guide provides brief answers to common questions about United States v. Texas, including what is at stake in the case, how the litigation began, what the contested issues are, and the impact the case may have on our country. 

• Shield From Deportation Threat to Get Day at High Court (Education Week) – This article details some of the implications of United States v. Texas on schools.

Lesson Plans

• Just What is Executive Action? A Lesson from the Principal’s Desk Students apply inductive reasoning skills about individual school policies set by the principal in order to understand what execution action is and what its limitations are.

• Writing a Way In: Multiple Perspectives on Executive Action Students write their way into understanding the multiple perspectives that surround this immigration issue after reading reactions in favor and against the expanded DACA and DAPA initiatives.

A Student-Centered, Project-Based Approach to Teaching about Immigration

On Monday, October 26th, we invited more than 50 students and their teachers from selected Long Island schools to come together to discuss immigration law and policy at our Teach Immigration Student Forum, a full day event held at Nassau BOCES, Garden City, NY.

Their teachers, Dr. Steven Burby and Ms. April Francis, applied for our two-year program where we provide educators with free and current educational materials on immigration law and policy and pair them with volunteers who are immigration lawyers. Together the teacher and lawyer teams co-teach at least two classroom lessons and then help students find their point of view in the production of student-created materials that connect to what they have learned and to share with their school and communities.

At this student forum, seventh-grade students from Lawrence Road Middle School in Uniondale and ninth-graders from the Brentwood Freshman Center engaged in concurrent workshops about visas for immigrants and the President’s executive action regarding immigration. Students worked in groups to learn deliberative dialogue via a partnership with Street Law, Inc., a non-profit education organization, to help them examine immigration reform and issues in the upcoming presidential election using evidence and logic.

“The information the students are learning will effect change in their own community,” said Ms. Francis, Lawrence Road Middle School Social Studies teacher.

 “This is an opportunity for project-based service learning. These students are motivated” said Brentwood English teacher Dr. Steve Burby.

What follows are photos from the forum highlighting the work of participating students. We look forward to continue our work with them and their teachers as they develop service-learning projects. 

Students listening to a session on visas for immigrants and visitors. 

Students writing monologues to explore varied responses to the President’s executive action on immigration.

Students working together to complete the writing task.

A student group participating in a deliberative dialogue on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).

Additional Resources:

• Teachers interested in the program attended free trainings in the summer of 2015 and the fall of 2014 and were supplied with teaching materials and recommended activities. To learn more about our previous training, please click here.

Stay Connected!

The American Immigration Council offers free lesson plans, resources, book/film reviews, and grants to teach immigration. We also welcome teacher and student book reviews and contributions to our blog. Email us at teacher@immcouncil.org and follow us on twitter @ThnkImmigration #teachimmigration.

A New Resource for Addressing Some Concerns of Immigrant Students

As teachers and school professionals, we know you are a trusted guide for your students, and in particular, some of your more recently immigrated students may share questions and concerns with you that you may feel like you need more information to address. These concerns may require extra support perhaps requiring students to seek mental health counseling and legal assistance.

The U.S. Department of Education recently published a resource guide for educators to support undocumented youth with a focus on secondary student access to higher education. It is estimated that about 65,000 un­doc­u­mented stu­dents gradu­ate high school each year, but only about 54 per­cent of all un­doc­u­mented young people have a high school dip­loma, com­pared to 82 per­cent of those born in the U.S. Included in this guide are: tips for school personnel to welcome immigrant students and their families into the classroom; information on de­ferred ac­tion for child­hood ar­rivals (DACA); (which of­fers some young people a tem­por­ary re­prieve from de­port­a­tion and opens ac­cess to some jobs and schol­ar­ships); successful school models that address specific immigrant student needs; and information on scholarships available for undocumented students.

One thing to remember is that all students, regardless of immigration status, are guaranteed by law a right to a free public education under the 1982 U.S. Supreme Court decision Plyer v. Doe. The U.S. Department of Education issued a fact sheet for schools on educational services for immigrant students and those recently arrived in the U.S., and together with the Department of Justice, published a joint guidance letter , fact sheet and Questions and Answers reminding school districts of their federal obligation to educate all students residing in their respective district and how to enroll them.  A student’s immigration status isn’t something that teachers can or should inquire about and school staff are prohibited by federal law from taking action that may intimidate or “chill” immigrant students from attending school. 

We will continue to support your work to teach about immigration critically and thoughtfully with all students with our free lesson plans and resources and to support your immigrant students.

Please help us to disseminate this vital information by forwarding this email and tell your colleagues about us.

Additional Resources:

•   Navigating College Applications for Undocumented Students - a brief guide on our blog to assist school professionals in supporting undocumented students when applying to college with links to trusted resources.  

•  Public Education for All? Lessons From Plyer v. Doe – a high school lesson plan where students explore personal beliefs about immigration and education, and then do a close reading of an article about the landmark Plyer v. Doe Supreme Court decision. 

Stay Connected!

The American Immigration Council offers free lesson plans, resources, book/film reviews, and grants to teach immigration. We also welcome teacher and student book reviews and contributions to our blog. Email us at teacher@immcouncil.org and follow us on twitter @ThnkImmigration #teachimmigration.

What Are Your State’s Policies Towards Immigrant Access to Higher Education?

It’s October and many high school seniors across the country are busy preparing to apply for college, which means that teachers, guidance counselors, parents and others are also busy — helping students fill out FAFSAs, select schools, revise essays, and write recommendation letters among other tasks.  Each year, an estimated 65,000 of these soon-to-be graduated youth are unauthorized immigrant students who were brought to the U.S. as children, and who face distinct challenges from their peers when accessing college. 

While guaranteed a right to public K-12 education under the 1982 Supreme Court ruling in Plyer v. Doe, there is no corresponding federal edict for how unauthorized youth are to be treated in a post secondary setting. As a result, many states have responded in diverse ways with some states allowing for tuition equity and financial aid and others barring unauthorized students from enrollment, and still others with no explicit policy governing access towards higher education for unauthorized youth. 

You can find out what your state policies are towards immigrant access to higher education on this map from the National Immigration Law Center (NILC). Specific state information and context can also be found on this interactive map from America’s Quarterly.

A recent commentary on state legislation from the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) notes that “since 2001, 17 states have enacted measures that would allow qualified unauthorized immigrant youth, often referred to as DREAMers, to pay resident tuition rates at their postsecondary institutions.”  Click to read the full commentary and to view a chart of the post secondary policies for the top 15 states of residence for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) youth.

Immigrants have and will continue to contribute to American public education. As our demography continues to shift, the contributions immigrants make in our communities and classrooms will help bring to light that education opens opportunities for career and civic engagement as proven by our immigrant past.  Simply put, we have much to lose in our immigrant future by not investing in the aspirations of all our students.

Additional Resources:

• Read our previous blog post, “Navigating College Application for Unauthorized Students” addressing frequently asked questions that may arise when assisting youth.  In particular, we highlighted Educators for Fair Consideration (E4FC)’s Educator’s Guide as another good source of information on broaching potentially sensitive topics with students.

• The DACA program created in 2012 provides temporary relief from deportation and work permits for up to two years if unauthorized youth meet age and other requirements. For information on DACA, please read the American Immigration Council’s DACA Resource Page.

The American Immigration Council offers free lesson plans, resources, book/film reviews, and grants to teach immigration. We also welcome teacher and student book reviews and contributions to our blog. Email us at teacher@immcouncil.org and follow us on twitter @ThnkImmigration. 

Welcoming Immigrant Students Into the Classroom

There are roughly 1.7 million undocumented students under age 30, who are enrolled in high school, have graduated or obtained a GED, or are currently enrolled in elementary or middle school according to the Pew Hispanic Research Center.  Additionally this past summer, our nation witnessed a spike in unaccompanied minors crossing our southern border with more than 50,000 children fleeing persecution from Central America and Mexico.  Most of them are awaiting immigration court dates and are staying with relatives or sponsors, but in the meantime, our laws require that they attend school.  In 1982, the Supreme Court determined in Plyer v. Doe that all students, regardless of their immigration status, are entitled to access K-12 education. 

As the number of immigrant students increases, and sometimes in areas not historically associated with large immigrant populations, teachers and administrators are often seeking assistance with not only how to enroll these students, but also how best to meet their needs in the classroom.  We’ve compiled a few best practices to create a welcoming classroom for immigrant students as well as some helpful Do’s and Don’ts for building relationships with them and their families.

BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS

Do send a message that all students, regardless of immigration status, have a right to attend your school and are welcomed.

Don’t use a lack of documentation (birth certificate, immigration status, social security number, etc.) to prevent an undocumented student from enrolling at a public school.  A May 2014 letter issued jointly by the US Department of Justice and the US Department of Education offers guidance for the ways schools can enroll students even if they lack certain documents.

Do ask for support from mental health professionals and community groups.

Some recently immigrated students have experienced trauma from violence witnessed in their home country.  Asking for a school counselor to check-in with all immigrant students is good idea to not only help students adjust to a different culture, but also to process any trauma, if encountered.  Some students may need the support of how to deal with difficult situations in non-violent ways if this is a practice they’ve acquired.

Do reach out to parents, guardians, and/or sponsors.

As teachers we hear this often, but calling home and saying a few positive words about a student can go a long way in establishing a good relationship with the student and his or her family.  If a language barrier is an issue, try asking a friend, teacher, or student to translate a letter or email home in the native language.  Even if it’s not entirely correct, the effort will be appreciated.

Don’t think that if you don’t hear back from anyone, it means they don’t care.

A parent, guardian, or sponsor may work long hours or they may be afraid to talk with you because of a language barrier, their own immigration status, etc. 

Do tell students about administrative relief.

Deferred action is a temporary relief from deportation.  The DACA (Deferred Action for Early Childhood Arrivals) program has been expanded and a new DAPA (Deferred Action for Parents Accountability) program has been created for parents who have a son or daughter who is a US citizen or lawful permanent resident.  While neither program is a path to citizenship, it allows families to remain together in the US temporarily and receive employment authorization.  Point students and their families to the Administrative Relief Resource Center to see if they qualify, learn steps to apply, contact an immigration lawyer, etc.

Do hold undocumented students to high expectations.

In some cases, you may have to scaffold materials depending on a student’s language proficiency, but the level of challenge should be equitable.  College is quite possible for them as more and more states have enacted their version of the DREAM act making higher education accessible for thousands of undocumented students.

Do check-in with your recently immigrated students.

Ask them how they feel about their school work, what they miss about their home country, what they like and don’t like about America, and what questions they have. Give them daily or weekly opportunities to write and/or talk about their immigration experience with you and fellow students.

HOW TO WELCOME IMMIGRANT STUDENTS INTO THE CLASSROOM

•  Decorate your classroom or school walls with photos of diverse role models including those of immigrants.  See our interactive lesson plans on Famous Immigrant Contributions, the Immigrant Experience “Jeopardy-Like” Game, and an Immigrant Timeline Scavenger Hunt for fun, engaging ways to learn about immigration.

 

•  Create mixed-student small groups.  Students may feel more comfortable sharing and building new friendships in smaller groups or partners as appropriate to your lesson.

 

• Identify shared values and differences in the classroom.  Plan for opportunities where students can voice their personal values and beliefs to create a sense of belonging.

 

• Make room for storytelling.  Storytelling is one of the most powerful ways to create empathy.  Integrate immigration stories whether through literature you read as a class or by creating a family history and/or digital storytelling project where students can see we are a nation of immigrants.

 

• Create opportunities for positive civic engagement and discussion.  Teach about Plyer v. Doe if you have middle and high school students and teach students about their role as a citizen. Provide examples of civically engaged youth today with our lesson plans.

This is certainly not an exhaustive list of ideas to integrate immigrant students into the school community.  Please share: What are other ways to welcome immigrant students into the classroom and school?  (The first three people to respond with great ideas will receive a book prize!)

*This blog post is also posted on edutopia.org at Please also check our website at the American Immigration Council, communityeducationcenter.org for more resources and lesson plans.