The Latin American and Caribbean Studies Center (LACS) held a workshop event on Wednesday, Sept. 11 where students explored the difficulties undocumented and immigrant students face at American universities.
The event’s main focus was a proposal outlining the creation of an Undocumented Immigrant Student Success Center (UISSC) at Stony Brook University.
The prospective committee highlighted, in a presentation, the struggles that undocumented and immigrant students experience as they pursue higher education in the United States. These challenges include the possibility of not being able to reenter the U.S. if they were to study abroad or visit family members in their home countries, as well as the inability to seek employment and obtain other necessities that require social security numbers.
Jeremy Galindo, a member of the committee and a senior double majoring in technological systems management and political science, emphasized during the presentation how undocumented and immigrant students are a significant part of the University and campus communities.
“They are your community members, your friends, your family,” Galindo said.
Madelyne Gaibor-Alban, another member of the committee and a senior double majoring in psychology and political science, described how a difficult experience her mother faced came partly from her immigrant status.
“I remember waking up to my mom’s cries about her grandfather passing away, someone who she said she will be there for forever,” Gaibor-Alban said. “She wasn’t there [for him] in those last moments and that haunts her to this day.”
The initiative to advocate for the creation of the UISSC has been in the works since the fall 2023 semester and was originally founded by Gaibor-Alban and former Undergraduate Student Government (USG) Senators Rex Alex and Yuchen Zhang, both of whom graduated in the spring of 2024.
Lori Flores, the director of LACS and an associate professor in the Department of History, was approached last fall about supporting the UISSC student committee in advocating for its goals.
“This issue is actually a global phenomenon, but LACS could be a very important ally because Latin Americans and Caribbeans make up so much of today’s population that would be affected by this issue,” Flores said. “With each time [the students and I met], we developed a more concrete plan for collaboration and this teaching was the result of those conversations.”
According to Sarah Elbaroudy, a member of the committee and the USG Vice President of University Affairs, the UISSC aims to help foster the development and growth of undocumented and immigrant students. Moreover, the center aims to address the holes within the University’s support infrastructure.
She highlighted how the committee wants to train the University’s Office of Financial Aid to provide tailored support to undocumented and immigrant students and to have a consolidated area for online resources that students can access for any legal, social, educational, mental or financial support.
Much of the inspiration, according to Elbaroudy, stems from the California State University of Monterey Bay’s Undocu-Success Center.
She also shared some positive news during the workshop: the Office of Student Life is now searching for a new professional staff member who can help support undocumented and immigrant students.
Elbaroudy clarified that the position is not directly tailored toward this specific community; however, the committee plans to work with them in helping further realize their goals. Tentatively, the Office of Student Life will hire this new professional staff member by the end of fall 2024 and introduce them to the University campus by spring 2025.
During the workshop, Gaibor-Alban pointed out how it made sense for there be a center like the UISSC to exist on campus when there are other centers like the UNITI Cultural Center, the LGBTQ* Center and the Student Support Team.
Flores emphasized how the need to better support the undocumented and immigrant community is a University issue.
“I really believe that this is a University-wide effort,” Flores said. “Yes, departments can sign on to support one by one but it should be really as a whole that the University signs on [with the initiative].”
Elbaroudy remains optimistic about the realization of the proposal, saying this movement has generated support among school faculty.
David Wrobel, the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, was in attendance at the event and pledged to look into how the College of Arts and Sciences can help undocumented and immigrant students financially. He said he is personally motivated to help the undocumented and immigrant community as he is a British immigrant himself who came to the U.S. over 40 years ago.
“If it hadn’t been for some help, some government assistance and some private support, I wouldn’t have been able to be here,” Wrobel said. “My mission as Dean of the College is that we do everything we can to support every student with need [and] to ensure our message of social mobility in the College is upfront and center.”
Executive Vice President and Provost Carl Lejuez briefly attended the event. He said the University “can definitely provide the infrastructure” for what LACS and the UISSC student committee is advocating for.
“When I was [at the University of] Kansas, we did quite a bit in this area. I don’t know why we haven’t here, so I’ll look more into this,” Lejuez said.
For Elbaroudy, seeing the initiative succeed would be a large step forward for Stony Brook.
“I am very hopeful in seeing it coming to fruition and eventually expanding our services beyond what we have imagined,” she said.
