On Sept. 13, a federal judge declared that an adjusted version of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) was illegal. It was another blow to a program that has been debated in courts for over five years.
Two weeks after the decision, San Francisco State University’s Dream Resource Center and a club named IDEAS, which stands for Improving Dreams, Equity, Access, and Success, hosted their first event for a month dedicated to raising awareness for undocumented students on campus.
The event, which initiated Rising Beyond Borders: Undocumented Student Month of Action, wasn’t created as a response to the decision made in a federal court. The month of events was planned during the summer —months before the decision made on Sept. 13. According to the organizers, the event’s main goal was to create a safe space for undocumented students where they could forget about their immigration status for just a moment. However, as the month passed by, each event also functioned as an act of defiance to the decision made against DACA and as an assurance to the undocumented community that they have allies on campus.
“What was really important and was really moving is that the students came through, the students and faculty came through,” said Oliver Elias Tinoco, the president of IDEAS and an organizer for the events. “Without the community being there, there is no club. There is no reason for the club to exist if it’s not ultimately giving back and serving the community that it wants to champion.”
Tinoco, apart from being the president of IDEAS, is an undocumented student. They explained that their DACA application has been frozen for more than two years and although they live in California, their future as a citizen is in the hands of the country’s politicians. Tinoco also recognizes that they are not the only one in the university with this status and that more undocumented students will arrive at SFSU in the future. For that reason, they worked hard to organize the events to create awareness for the programs made for undocumented students.
“My biggest goal [is] that I want to leave higher education saying I completed –– was that I made the journey of higher education even a little bit easier for the next brown queer undocumented student to come through here,” Tinoco said. “Even if that means having a club like IDEAS be as visible as the other ones, even if that means having an undocumented student month of action every year, that’s enough for me.”
There were five main events during October, some with special guests like poets, activists, business owners and alumni. The events touched on a variety of subjects including LGBTQ+ and financial issues.
Griselda Madrigal Lara, the Dream Resource Coordinator and and organizer for the events, explained that the student reaction of the speakers was very positive.
“It was just amazing to see all of them show up and show out,” Madrigal Lara said. “It’s really exciting to see that possibility on campus and also looking forward to next year’s [event] and how we can improve on that.”
The final event was on financial information with business owner Rosa Salamanca. She is the co-founder of Colorful Cultura and is an undocumented alumna from California State University Northridge. She spoke on the topic of making money or creating a business in the United States as an undocumented individual and recognized the importance of events such as Rising Beyond Borders.
“Oftentimes because of the limitations of undocumented folks, there is not a lot of ways to support undocumented students,” Salamanca said. “If institutions of higher education are going to be having students of different backgrounds … We also have to be responsible for providing the right support in the services to help students succeed and thrive at the university and beyond.”
Tinoco explained that the month of action had helped more students find the Dream Resource Center and IDEAS, but lamented on how difficult it is to find the space due to the lack of information on the center. However, they also believe that with the continuation of events like Rising Beyond Borders, the administration will take note of the need for information on the resources for undocumented students.
“I think they have taken note and I think it’s because we demanded it as well,” Tinoco said. “The specific intention [of the kick-off event] was to get as many people into Malcolm X as we could, as many people participating in the mural painting, in the arts and crafts, talking to vendors, talking to resources, talking to the organizations on campus and the organizations off-campus that we invited because we wanted [administration] see that this is a community that isn’t going to be ignored and is supported by your SFSU community.”
