MEDIA ADVISORY for: Mayo 17, 2023
CONTACT: Hayley Burgess, UCLA Center for Immigration Law and Policy, cilppress@law.ucla.edu, 626-497-2341
Silvia Vázquez, UCLA Labor Center y Dream Resource Center, vazsil89@ucla.edu, 424-354-6069
RALLY AND PRESS CONFERENCE 5/17:
Hundreds of Undocumented Students and Allies From Across UC Campuses to Hold Opportunity4All Rally Outside of UC Regents Meeting at UCLA
Rally to come as University of California nears decision on proposal to remove hiring restrictions for undocumented students
WHAT: On Mayo 17th, the anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, hundreds of students and allies will join undocumented student leaders and civil rights icon Rev. James Lawson Jr. for a rally at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) to urge the University of California (UC) leadership to remove hiring restrictions for students who don’t have access to DACA or any other form of immigration status.
Leading scholars of immigration and constitutional law from around the country have shown the University of California has the power under existing law to provide its undocumented students equal access to educational employment opportunities. While the UC has yet to meet directly with students to discuss the removal of hiring restrictions, they are expected to reach a decision on the proposal at the UC Regents Mayo 18th meeting at UCLA this week.
At the rally, undocumented students will share their stories alongside civil rights leader Rev. James Lawson Jr. to urge that no student be barred from opportunities on UC campuses simply because of their immigration status. “We are organizing for our right to an equitable education. We are organizing for our right to be treated like our peers and have the same opportunities. We know the UC has the authority to treat us the same as all other students. The question is whether they are willing to do what is right,” said Diana Ortiz Aguilar, Opportunity4All student organizer, UC Berkeley.
“In over half a year of mobilization, UC President Drake has not met, and in fact, refuses to meet with us, the undocumented students he vowed to protect. Undocumented students call TIME’S UP! No more stalling, no more fake promises, it’s time to act. If Drake and the UC won’t listen, well, we’ll just have to be so loud they can’t ignore us,” said Jeffry Umaña Muñoz, UCLA student and Undocumented Student-Led Network (USN) leader.
WHEN: Miércoles, Mayo 17, 2023 at 12:30pm PT; Please RSVP: tinyurl.com/O4All-Rally
WHERE: Bruin Walk at UCLA campus near the steps of Kerckhoff Hall (308 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095). For additional information, please contact Hayley or Silvia (listed above).
OMS:
- Reverend James Lawson Jr., Civil and workers’ rights leader and teacher of nonviolence
- Karely Amaya, UCLA graduate student and USN organizer
- Vanessa, Opportunity4All Student Organizer, UC Irvine
- Leo, Opportunity4All Student Organizer, UC Berkeley
- Kent Wong, Director del Centro Laboral de la UCLA
- Ju Hong, Director del Centro de Recursos del Sueño de la UCLA
ANTECEDENTES ADICIONALES:
Debido a que las protecciones proporcionadas por DACA nunca han sido actualizadas, casi todos los jóvenes indocumentados que ahora ingresan a la educación superior no son elegibles para sus protecciones. En California, ya hay aproximadamente 44,326 estudiantes universitarios indocumentados que no son elegibles para DACA, y 27,000 estudiantes indocumentados que se gradúan de la escuela secundaria cada año. Los estudiantes indocumentados en California no pueden solicitar puestos de trabajo y otras oportunidades de empleo simplemente debido a su estatus. Esto incluye puestos de investigador y asistente de enseñanza para estudiantes graduados, trabajos de estudio de trabajo, pasantías pagadas y puestos de liderazgo estudiantil en organizaciones del campus, y otras oportunidades educativas y profesionales para una participación más profunda con sus instituciones.
###
Acerca del CILP de la UCLA:
Founded in 2020, the Center for Immigration Law and Policy (CILP) at the UCLA School of Law expands the law school’s role as a national leader in immigration law and policy, generating innovative ideas at the intersection of immigration scholarship and practice and serving as a hub for transforming those ideas into meaningful changes in immigration policy.
Acerca del Centro Laboral de la UCLA:
The UCLA Labor Center believes that a public university belongs to the people and should advance quality education and employment for all. Every day we bring together workers, students, faculty, and policymakers to address the most critical issues facing working people today. Our research, education, and policy work lifts industry standards, creates jobs that are good for communities, and strengthens immigrant rights, especially for students and youth. The UCLA Labor Center is housed in the Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, a multidisciplinary research center dedicated to the study, teaching, and discussion of labor and employment issues at UCLA.
Acerca de la Red dirigida por estudiantes indocumentados:
La misión de la Red dirigida por estudiantes indocumentados (USN) es crear una red estatal de jóvenes líderes inmigrantes para trabajar en la promoción de una agenda de reforma inmigrante. La USN se compromete a ampliar y defender los recursos de los estudiantes indocumentados, así como a construir comunidad y crear espacios seguros en los campus. En última instancia, la USN tiene como objetivo elevar las voces de los indocumentados y retratar con precisión la experiencia de los indocumentados.
Acerca del Dream Resource Center de la UCLA:
En Centro de Recursos del Sueño de la UCLA (DRC), un equipo de programas del Centro Laboral de la UCLA, forma a la próxima generación de líderes diversos -jóvenes inmigrantes y aliados con experiencias vividas- para que estén a la vanguardia de los movimientos por la justicia social y logren la equidad y la justicia para los trabajadores, las familias y las comunidades.
