Friday, April 25, 2008
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
USC "Immigrant Integration and the American Future: Lessons from and for California"
Written by Susan, UCLA Alumna and Community Advocate
April 22, 2008
Panicked! It was 9 a.m. when the conference started and we still did not have the books from the publishers. At around noon, we received a call that the books had just arrived from the printers! We decided to share the books with our friends who were present, including our first fan: UCLA Professor Abel Valenzuela, Ph.D. who happily posed for our camera as one of the first people to proudly hold the text:
April 22, 2008
Panicked! It was 9 a.m. when the conference started and we still did not have the books from the publishers. At around noon, we received a call that the books had just arrived from the printers! We decided to share the books with our friends who were present, including our first fan: UCLA Professor Abel Valenzuela, Ph.D. who happily posed for our camera as one of the first people to proudly hold the text:
According to USC, the conference brought together over 350 people, which included community members, students, academics, nonprofit directors, and activists, among many other private and public individuals. The conference itself addressed the issue of immigrant integration and the best practices and challenges in trying to integrate immigrants into the American fabric. There were several panelists, including Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Roberto Suro of the USC Annenberg School for Communication, Stewart Kwoh of the Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California, Maria Elena Durazo of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor (AFL-CIO), Tamar Jacoby of the Manhattan Institute, Marqueece Harris-Dawson of Community Coalition, and Ernesto Cortes Jr. of the Industrial Areas Foundation.
Several of speakers acknowledged the contributions of immigrants to California's economy, and they encouraged our presidential candidates to keep the issue of immigration reform alive even as it becomes politically sensitive. After we headed back to the UCLA Labor Center, our senior administrator told us not to distribute any books just yet because the printers forgot to include a sticker that indicates that the book was union made. But it was far too late! The support was incredible and people could not wait to get a copy of this amazing text.
Several of speakers acknowledged the contributions of immigrants to California's economy, and they encouraged our presidential candidates to keep the issue of immigration reform alive even as it becomes politically sensitive. After we headed back to the UCLA Labor Center, our senior administrator told us not to distribute any books just yet because the printers forgot to include a sticker that indicates that the book was union made. But it was far too late! The support was incredible and people could not wait to get a copy of this amazing text.
Here is a link to learn more about USC's event and the new center: http://college.usc.edu/news/2008/05/csii.html
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Endorsements: Underground Undergrads: UCLA Undocumented Immigrant Students Speak Out
The following individuals and more have endorsed Underground Undergrads:
“The talented, dynamic young people captured in this book represent the hope for the future. They have done what society has asked of them: they have worked hard, studied hard, and have obtained educational success in spite of tremendous obstacles. Now it is society’s turn to do the right thing. We need to pass the Dream Act, and we need to provide a path to citizenship to these young people and to millions of undocumented workers who contribute so much for the American dream.”
– María Elena Durazo, Executive Secretary-Treasurer, Los Angeles County Federation of Labor
“These courageous undocumented students of UCLA are standing up for the rights of all undocumented people. Although immigrant workers throughout the generations have worked in the fields and built our cities, they have always been subjected to poor treatment and have been denied basic rights. The voices of these students should be heard in Sacramento, in Washington, DC, and they should inspire us all to work harder for full rights for all immigrants.”
– Dolores Huerta, Cofounder, United Farm Workers of America
"The young Bruins featured in this book represent some of the finest leaders of their generation. As someone who knows what it means to beat the odds and graduate with a UCLA diploma, I salute their drive and hard work in continuing the quest for the American dream. They are living proof that promoting immigrant integration is in the best interest of our city and of our nation.”
– Antonio Villaraigosa, Mayor, City of Los Angeles
“Underground Undergrads reveals an inconvenient truth behind the empty slogans of those who offer hate instead of compassion in the debate on undocumented migration. Around a third of those presently in undocumented status entered the country as minors in the company of adults. They are guilty of no transgression except obeying their parents. I’d like to think that the United States is not the sort of country that punishes children for the purported crimes of parents. After reading this book, surely no one can disagree that the students it profiles merit an immediate and unconditional amnesty. It is not only the right thing to do morally, it is the obvious move practically, for until the burden of undocumented status is lifted, these well-educated and ambitious students constitute a waste of valuable human capital that our country can ill afford to lose.”
– Douglas Massey, Professor of Sociology, Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University
“In the midst of contentious debates surrounding the fate of the nation’s undocumented immigrant population, the student voices presented here truly provide a unique perspective. The stories in this collection are moving and inspirational sagas of students emerging from the shadows, coping with issues of educational access, and demanding the promise of opportunity for all.”
– Michael Omi, Associate Professor of Ethnic Studies, University of California, Berkeley
“Amid the shrill hue and cry over undocumented immigration, so often lacking in basic facts, Underground Undergrads is an eye-opening, myth-busting, luminous gem of a book, humanizing and bringing to life the extraordinary stories of undocumented students who have made it to college against all odds. They came at an early age from El Salvador and Vietnam and Mexico and Korea and elsewhere, and have grown up American, speaking English, working hard, and demonstrating uncommon talents and values that can only redound to the lasting benefit of this society. Yet these students are denied basic rights and must live with daily indignities, blocked aspirations, and in constant fear of deportation. Well educated and refusing to be pushed further underground, they have emerged as committed activists for immi grant rights, inspired by and evoking the best of American traditions. These ambitious students are at once exemplars of the possibilities and contradictions of the United States, of the American dream in Deportation Nation.”
– Rubén G. Rumbaut, Professor of Sociology, University of California, Irvine
To endorse this book please email us at undergroundundergrads(at)gmail.com
Thank you!
“The talented, dynamic young people captured in this book represent the hope for the future. They have done what society has asked of them: they have worked hard, studied hard, and have obtained educational success in spite of tremendous obstacles. Now it is society’s turn to do the right thing. We need to pass the Dream Act, and we need to provide a path to citizenship to these young people and to millions of undocumented workers who contribute so much for the American dream.”
– María Elena Durazo, Executive Secretary-Treasurer, Los Angeles County Federation of Labor
“These courageous undocumented students of UCLA are standing up for the rights of all undocumented people. Although immigrant workers throughout the generations have worked in the fields and built our cities, they have always been subjected to poor treatment and have been denied basic rights. The voices of these students should be heard in Sacramento, in Washington, DC, and they should inspire us all to work harder for full rights for all immigrants.”
– Dolores Huerta, Cofounder, United Farm Workers of America
"The young Bruins featured in this book represent some of the finest leaders of their generation. As someone who knows what it means to beat the odds and graduate with a UCLA diploma, I salute their drive and hard work in continuing the quest for the American dream. They are living proof that promoting immigrant integration is in the best interest of our city and of our nation.”
– Antonio Villaraigosa, Mayor, City of Los Angeles
“Underground Undergrads reveals an inconvenient truth behind the empty slogans of those who offer hate instead of compassion in the debate on undocumented migration. Around a third of those presently in undocumented status entered the country as minors in the company of adults. They are guilty of no transgression except obeying their parents. I’d like to think that the United States is not the sort of country that punishes children for the purported crimes of parents. After reading this book, surely no one can disagree that the students it profiles merit an immediate and unconditional amnesty. It is not only the right thing to do morally, it is the obvious move practically, for until the burden of undocumented status is lifted, these well-educated and ambitious students constitute a waste of valuable human capital that our country can ill afford to lose.”
– Douglas Massey, Professor of Sociology, Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University
“In the midst of contentious debates surrounding the fate of the nation’s undocumented immigrant population, the student voices presented here truly provide a unique perspective. The stories in this collection are moving and inspirational sagas of students emerging from the shadows, coping with issues of educational access, and demanding the promise of opportunity for all.”
– Michael Omi, Associate Professor of Ethnic Studies, University of California, Berkeley
“Amid the shrill hue and cry over undocumented immigration, so often lacking in basic facts, Underground Undergrads is an eye-opening, myth-busting, luminous gem of a book, humanizing and bringing to life the extraordinary stories of undocumented students who have made it to college against all odds. They came at an early age from El Salvador and Vietnam and Mexico and Korea and elsewhere, and have grown up American, speaking English, working hard, and demonstrating uncommon talents and values that can only redound to the lasting benefit of this society. Yet these students are denied basic rights and must live with daily indignities, blocked aspirations, and in constant fear of deportation. Well educated and refusing to be pushed further underground, they have emerged as committed activists for immi grant rights, inspired by and evoking the best of American traditions. These ambitious students are at once exemplars of the possibilities and contradictions of the United States, of the American dream in Deportation Nation.”
– Rubén G. Rumbaut, Professor of Sociology, University of California, Irvine
To endorse this book please email us at undergroundundergrads(at)gmail.com
Thank you!
Presenting: Underground Undergrads: UCLA Undocumented Immigrant Students Speak Out
Immerse yourself in the stories of undocumented students at UCLA and the public policy paradox they find themselves in. Meet:
- Mario Escobar: A former child soldier from El Salvador who recently attained asylum in this country.
- Tam Tran: A UCLA graduate who testified before the U.S. Congress on the status of undocumented students.
- Grace: A Korean student who gave up her student visa to qualify for AB 540 so she could attend UCLA
- Antonio: A Mexican immigrant who arrived in this country at the age of four and who struggled to finance and complete his college education.
Underground Undergrads: UCLA Undocumented Immigrant Students Speak Out
This student publication, Underground Undergrads: UCLA Undocumented Immigrant Students Speak Out, features the growing student movement around access to higher education for undocumented students. Written by the students themselves, eight moving stories of undocumented immigrant students from UCLA provide the focal point of Underground Undergrads. The stories are unique and diverse, but they all demonstrate the pain, financial hardship, and emotional distress these students face as well as their ultimate triumph when they graduate from UCLA. Underground Undergrads also serves as an educational and research tool by providing a summary of the history of legislation impacting undocumented students in higher education as well as a resource guide of organizations that advocate for student rights.
For order forms, please visit
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