F1: When the DREAM Becomes a Nightmare: Supporting Undocumented Scholars Through the Unknown

Despite a number of policy gains for undocumented Colorado scholars in accessing higher education, they are faced with the possibility of a dramatic political shift after the 2016 elections. Community College of Denver Retention Specialists, Tarsha Degay and Jenaya Zarrad, will use a practitioner approach to provide background on state and federal policies provide accessibility to college for undocumented scholars in Colorado. The presenters will draw on these macro-level concepts to share their experience in how they translate to the lives of individual students and their families. The audience will be provided with best practices in navigating undocumented students through higher education, including: financial, academic, and healthcare resources. We are seeing an increase in the stress levels of our undocumented student population during this election season. Several of the current presidential candidates have expressed vitriol towards undocumented people in the U.S. and have threatened to dismantle Deferred Action – a move that would have tremendous negative implications for most of the undocumented students we serve. Aided by a panel of undocumented scholars, we will discuss methods rooted in counseling psychology that higher education professionals can use to provide comfort and support to this marginalized, yet resilient, population of scholars we serve.