Southwestern College is taking another step to show solidarity with undocumented students.
First, SWC defied President Trump’s push to end Obama-era Deferred Action for childhood arrivals (DACA) by implementing sanctuary policies. It then offerred a variety of legal and financial resources for students protected under the DACA, who are known as Dreamers. Now a Dreamer’s Center will be the hub of safety and information for DACA students in need of aid.
Dr. Corona de Guadalupe, director of the equity, diversity and inclusion program and Patti Larkin, director of financial aid, evaluations and veteran services collaborated to help write a grant for the Dreamer Center. Larkin said their goal is to create a place of trust and security, where students can feel welcomed and open to confiding their personal information.
They want to make sure all Dreamers are being helped in every way possible within the law and help those who come from mixed-status families. After learning the individual’s legal status, they can best determine what resources will benefit them the most.
“We want to make sure that there’s a place and location that makes that information and those resources readily available with staff that are well trained and committed to this community,” Larkin said.
A key value that Corona and Larkin share is that finances should not be a barrier to a student’s goals.
Southwestern College was one of 20 to be awarded the Catalyst Foundation grant. This non-profit organization is supporting Dreamers Centers across the state that form a network of centers at multiple colleges.
Scholarships were also made available earlier in the semester for DACA students.
“To hear students who were actually impacted is amazing to hear their persistence and overcoming major barriers to continue their educational goals,” Corona said.
Larkinhopes to promote the ways the Dreamer Center can aid a student in developing a career. DACA students are still living lives of fear and not attending school because they are worried about deportation, she said.
The center will also have an advisor and counselor for students who need to communicate with someone over their immigration status. Currently, there are two advisors who specialize in financial aid.
Larkin said support from the campus community made this project possible.
“We couldn’t do it without the support of our governing board, without the support of Dr. Kindred Murillo and certainly our Vice President of Student Services Dr. Suarez,” Larkin said. “All of them have made it possible.”
Murillo, SWC’s president, said people feel vulnerable and isolated from the public because of their legal status, but she hopes the center will change that.
“The Dreamer Center sends a message that you are visible, we care, and we want you here,” she said.
