The case in support of undocumented immigrants 
opportunities in the United States will be made during the First Annual Macaulay Students for Immigration Education Reform (S.I.E.R.) Conference. The conference, in collaboration with Arizona State University’s Barrett Honors College, will address the state of unauthorized immigrants in higher education. ASU hosted its own conference during the Spring 2012 semester.
Arizona SB 1070, the notoriously controversial piece of anti-illegal immigration legislation, as well as President Obama’s executive order on immigration, which allows eligible immigrants to apply for work permits and defer deportation for two years, have renewed the already heated debate surrounding undocumented immigration in the United States. The Pew Hispanic Center estimated that 11.2 million undocumented immigrants lived in the United States in March 2010.
New York City Council Member Daniel Dromm, the chairman of the Council’s Immigration Committee, and Allan Wernick, CUNY Citizenship Now Director and Baruch College professor, will be delivering the opening and closing addresses, respectively.
The conference aims to “debunk the myths” about unauthorized immigration, particularly undocumented students. The breakout sessions of the conference include: 21st Century Undesirables: A Discussion on the Creation of a New Cultural Underground of Unauthorized Immigrants, A Threat to Economic Security? What the Numbers Actually Tell us About the Economic Impact of Unauthorized Immigrants, The Politics of Belonging: Tracing America’s History of Federal Citizenship Laws in the Twentieth Century, and Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell: A Look at the CUNY Way to Offer Affordable Higher Education to Unauthorized Students.
“I’m hoping that people will come away with two things. The first is a better understanding of the legal and cultural issues that face undocumented immigrants in the higher education system. The second is the knowledge that there are others out there who share their interest and want to do something about it. There are many voices with complementary opinions on immigration, but only now are we trying to listen to each other,” said Christina Dumitrescu (Lehman ’11), a key organizer of the conference.
Dumitrescu studied Political Science and History and intends to pursue a law degree.
A daughter of Eastern European immigrants, Dumitrescu said she “had a very different childhood growing up” from her more Americanized classmates. “Think six-year-old Toula in My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” she said. “She had “mouse caca” for lunch. And sideburns. I had stuffed cabbage…and sideburns. So I always knew there was something just a shade off normal about my childhood.”
Dumitrescu unearthed a passion for advocacy on behalf of undocumented students after discovering the “legal status” of some of her peers.
“I didn’t realize what it meant to be American until I went to college and discovered what freedom was. Some of my friends, who entrusted me with the secret that they were unauthorized, did not. I took classes on immigration to satisfy my curiosity, but I yearned to act,” she said. “It was no longer satisfying to just learn. When I received an invitation to a lunch at Macaulay to discuss immigration, I jumped at the chance. I thought, I can’t miss out on this! So I didn’t. Now here we are. Seven months later with a successful conference under our respective belts and a bigger better one on the horizon.”
Much of the conference planning was done over Skype; while difficulties ranging from sheer distance to scheduling conflicts were inevitable, the group was united by a shared goal “to come together and discuss something that was so important to all of us.”
For the student and faculty organizers, the significance of the conference’s cross-country collaboration went beyond logistics.
“It’s moments like these when you realize that one of the greatest powers given to people in the States is that together, united, their voice is so much more powerful than when one of them stands alone,” said Dumitrescu. “Incorporating Macaulay as a part of this conversation’s development will add one more voice to that mix, will add to the richness and vitality of a growing community that is aware of the problems facing undocumented students.”
The conference is on Friday, September 28th, from 8:30AM to 3:00PM. Visit the Macaulay event registration page to RSVP.
To follow S.I.E.R, visit their Facebook page. To learn more about CUNY Citizenship Now, visit its Facebook page here.
