DACA or MD DREAM Act, which to choose?

CASA De Maryland, Electronic Flier Event

When we began our outreach to the local community and connected with Casa De Maryland, we could not quite understand why students would rather choose using DACA as opposed to the Maryland DREAM Act (In-State Tuition) policy in order to gain the benefit of the lowest tuition rate in community college.  As a team we attended another event at Casa, the "Coming Out of the Shadows & Cultural Night,” in which the community organizers took the time to provide specific information about

CYC 10.30.13, Poster on Table "Our Stories"

the Maryland DREAM Act and the DACA program, as well as provide a platform in which a current community member could “come out of the shadows” by stating his immigration story and his undocumented status as “undocumented, unafraid, and unapologetic.” The meeting-event was enlightening because as we spoke to currently undocumented students, who are either recent high school graduates or community college students, we were able to gain more clarity in these two policies. Most importantly, these community discussions illustrated for us how students use the formal policies to their advantage, and use the language in college/university admissions policies to gain in-state tuition.

Why do students use DACA as opposed to the MD DREAM Act? Answer…drum roll, please!  Some students do not qualify for the MD Dream Act; therefore they use the documentation they get from the DACA policy (Driver’s License, Social Security, Work Permit) as an example of being a resident of the State of Maryland and as evident of “documentation” that colleges and universities require of students if they want to be considered in-state residents.

CYC 10.30.13, Stand Up Poster "Access to Higher Education"

Next in our research process is an analysis of these two policies, as well as the community colleges and universities in our study to see how students are interpreting the policies to fit their needs.  Further research and analysis could also be done on the documents and primary sources we have collected from this and other community based organizations.  Included are some of those documents.

CYC 10.30.13, Stand Up Poster "DACA" 

                                                                                                                                                 

A breakthrough in contextual understandings, like policy interpretation of our participants, is always rewarding. Thank you to those students who were willing to share their experience in navigating the legal and policy arenas of community colleges and universities.