Cultural groups, UA plan to increase support for undocumented students

Though the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act failed to pass in the Senate last December, students and administrators are working to give undocumented students at Penn equal rights and opportunities on campus.

“We understand [the decision] didn’t go the way we wanted it to, but there are ways to achieve [the DREAM Act] in our own way at Penn,” Undergraduate Assembly President and College senior Matt Amalfitano said.

Currently, undocumented immigrants violate civil laws by entering the country illegally or overstaying visas.

The DREAM Act would allow undocumented students in good character to achieve permanent residency in the United States.

Members of MEChA — Penn’s Chicano cultural group — have planned initiatives with the UA to provide a confidential support network for undocumented students in order to make them feel safer on campus.

College junior and MEChA Chairwoman Rosie Brown wants Penn to establish a method, such as a fund, to obtain legal aid for undocumented students who are at risk of deportation. Brown also hopes the school will continue its need-blind admission policies.

Penn currently admits students based on merit, not citizenship status, according to Penn President Amy Gutmann.

Gutmann publicly declared her support of the Act last February. “We will continue to admit students regardless of if they are a citizen,” she said.

The University is not legally required to determine whether applicants are citizens or not.

Undocumented students are eligible for financial aid at Penn, though they cannot legally receive federal aid.

MEChA’s focus at the moment is to ensure that undocumented students at Penn feel safe on campus, according to College junior and MEChA Vice President Ollin Venegas.

“We want specifics. We want the school to take a more proactive stance and to really push and rally for these students,” he said.

Amalfitano said the UA will continue to push for better resources for undocumented students. He believes that all cultural centers and organizations on campus should be attuned to the needs of these students.

While undocumented Hispanic students may seek guidance and counseling from organizations such as La Casa Latina, “that assumes that only Hispanics are undocumented,” he said.

He said he believes that other cultural centers should provide similar resources for other ethnicities, and that he hopes to develop a program to educate students and organizations on how to best support these students.

Both Amalfitano and Venegas admitted that they were still in the process of figuring out the next best step. Along with Gutmann, they are working to try to have it pass in the future.

“[Undocumented students] are worried about being deported and are wary of who to talk to about their status,” Amalfitano said. “They should be focusing on their studies and making friends, but they have this constant worrying. This is not a way to be at Penn.”

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